I. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, gerund of laughen to laugh
: the act or process of emitting a laugh
a sound of laughing came from down the corridor
laughing exercises the diaphragm as well as the risorius
II. adjective
Etymology: in sense 1, from gerund of laugh (I) ; in sense 2, from present participle of laugh (I)
1. : laughable
this is no laughing matter
2. : expressing or seeming to express mirth or good humor : merry , jocular
laughing girl
laughing mood
looking for an ouzel's nest along … a laughing stream — D.C.Peattie
• laugh·ing·ly adverb