Standard Lemma guide

laughter

name · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlɑːftə/
  • General-American: lăfʹtər
  • General-American: /ˈlæftɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑːftə(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -æftə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: L AE1 F T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • Their loud laughter betrayed their presence.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A reason for merriment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the activity of laughing; the manifestation of joy or mirth or scorn

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he enjoyed the laughter of the crowd

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: activity

6

noun

Meaning 6

the sound of laughing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: laugh

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: utterance, vocalization

Narrower terms: cachinnation, cackle, chortle, chuckle, giggle, guffaw, belly laugh, hee-haw, horselaugh, ha-ha, haw-haw, snicker, snort, snigger, titter

History

Etymology

From Middle English laughter, laghter, laȝter, from Old English hleahtor (“laughter, jubilation, derision”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (“laughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Cognate with German Gelächter (“laughter, hilarity, merriment”), Danish and Norwegian latter (“laughter”), Icelandic hlátur (“laughter”). More at laugh.

Across languages

Translations

188 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: аччара (aččara) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Albanian: qeshje — sound (as) of laughing
  • Albanian: gajasje — sound (as) of laughing
  • Amharic: ሳቅ (saḳ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Arabic: ضَحِك (ḍaḥik) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Arabic: ضِحْك (ḍiḥk) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Armenian: քրքիջ (kʻrkʻiǰ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Armenian: ծիծաղ (cicaġ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Aromanian: arãs — sound (as) of laughing
  • Azerbaijani: gülüş — sound (as) of laughing
  • Azerbaijani: qəhqəhə — sound (as) of laughing
  • Basque: barre — sound (as) of laughing
  • Belarusian: смех (smjex) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Belarusian: сьмех (sʹmjex) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Belarusian: ро́гат (róhat) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Bengali: হাসি (haśi) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Bulgarian: смях (smjah) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Burmese: ရယ်မောခြင်း (raimau:hkrang:) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Carpathian Rusyn: сміх (smix) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Catalan: riure — sound (as) of laughing
  • Catalan: rialla — sound (as) of laughing
  • Catalan: riallada — sound (as) of laughing
  • Chinese Cantonese: 笑聲 /笑声 (siu3 seng1 / siu3 sing1) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笑聲 /笑声 (xiàoshēng) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Czech: smích — sound (as) of laughing
  • Danish: latter — sound (as) of laughing
  • Dutch: gelach — sound (as) of laughing
  • Esperanto: ridado — sound (as) of laughing
  • Estonian: naer — sound (as) of laughing
  • Finnish: nauru — sound (as) of laughing
  • French: rire — sound (as) of laughing
  • Friulian: ridade — sound (as) of laughing
  • Friulian: ridi — sound (as) of laughing
  • Galician: risa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Georgian: სიცილი (sicili) — sound (as) of laughing
  • German: Gelächter — sound (as) of laughing
  • German: Lachen — sound (as) of laughing
  • Greek: γέλιο (gélio) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Ancient Greek: γέλως (gélōs) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hebrew: צְחוֹק (ts'khok) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Higaonon: potawa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hindi: हंसी (hansī) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hindi: ख़ंदा (xandā) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hindi: खंदा (khandā) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hindi: हास (hās) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Hungarian: nevetés — sound (as) of laughing
  • Icelandic: hlátur — sound (as) of laughing
  • Indonesian: tawa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Indonesian: ketawa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Indonesian: gelak — sound (as) of laughing
  • Irish: gáire — sound (as) of laughing
  • Italian: risata — sound (as) of laughing
  • Italian: riso — sound (as) of laughing
  • Japanese: 笑い声 (waraigoe) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Japanese: 笑い (warai) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Javanese: guyu — sound (as) of laughing
  • Kazakh: күлкі (külkı) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Khmer: សំណើច (sɑmnaəc) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Khmer: ក្អាក (kʼaak) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Khmer: ហស (hɑɑh) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Khmer: ហាស (haasaʼ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Korean: 웃음 (useum) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Korean: 웃음소리 (useumsori) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Northern Kurdish: ken — sound (as) of laughing
  • Kyrgyz: күлкү (külkü) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Kyrgyz: кулуу (kuluu) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Lao: ສຽງຫົວ (sīang hūa) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Latin: rīsus — sound (as) of laughing
  • Latin: cachinnus — sound (as) of laughing
  • Latvian: smiekli — sound (as) of laughing
  • Lithuanian: juõkas — sound (as) of laughing
  • Low German: Lachen — sound (as) of laughing
  • Macedonian: сме́а (sméa) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Malay: ketawa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Maltese: daħq — sound (as) of laughing
  • Marathi: हास्य (hāsya) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Middle English: laughter — sound (as) of laughing
  • Mongolian: инээд (ineed) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Navajo: dloh — sound (as) of laughing
  • Norwegian Bokmål: latter — sound (as) of laughing
  • Occitan: ris — sound (as) of laughing
  • Occitan: risada — sound (as) of laughing
  • Church Slavic: смѣхъ (směxŭ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Old East Slavic: смѣхъ (směxŭ) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Old English: hleahtor — sound (as) of laughing
  • Oromo: kolfa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Pali: hāsa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Pannonian Rusyn: шмих (šmix) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Pashto: خندا (xandā) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Dari: خَنْدَه (xanda) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Iranian Persian: خَنْدِه (xande) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Polish: śmiech — sound (as) of laughing
  • Portuguese: risada — sound (as) of laughing
  • Portuguese: risos — sound (as) of laughing
  • Punjabi: ਹਾਸਾ (hāsā) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Punjabi: ਹਲਰਾ (halrā) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Quechua: asiy — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romanian: râs — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romanian: râset — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romansh: riez — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romansh: riöz — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romansh: riem — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romansh: risada — sound (as) of laughing
  • Romansh: risaglia — sound (as) of laughing
  • Russian: смех (smex) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Russian: хо́хот (xóxot) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Skolt-Sami: smiâhh — sound (as) of laughing
  • Sanskrit: हास (hāsa) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Sardinian: risida — sound (as) of laughing
  • Scottish Gaelic: gàire — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: сме̑х — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: смије̑х — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: хихот — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: кикот — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: smȇh — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: smijȇh — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: hȉhōt — sound (as) of laughing
  • Serbo-Croatian: kȉkōt — sound (as) of laughing
  • Silesian: śmiych — sound (as) of laughing
  • Sinhalese: සිනාව (sināwa) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Sinhalese: හිනාව (hināwa) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Slovak: smiech — sound (as) of laughing
  • Slovene: smeh — sound (as) of laughing
  • Lower Sorbian: směch — sound (as) of laughing
  • Upper Sorbian: směch — sound (as) of laughing
  • Spanish: risa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Swedish: skratt — sound (as) of laughing
  • Tagalog: tawa — sound (as) of laughing
  • Tajik: ханда (xanda) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Thai: เสียงหัวเราะ (sǐiang-hǔua-rɔ́) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Tibetan: དགོད་སྒྲ (dgod sgra) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Turkish: kahkaha — sound (as) of laughing
  • Turkish: gülüş — sound (as) of laughing
  • Turkmen: gülki — sound (as) of laughing
  • Turkmen: jakyrdy — sound (as) of laughing
  • Ugaritic: 𐎕𐎈𐎖 (ṣḥq) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Ukrainian: сміх (smix) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Ukrainian: ре́гіт (réhit) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Umbuygamu: alal — sound (as) of laughing
  • Urdu: ہَنْسی (hansī) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Urdu: خَنْدَہ (xanda) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Uyghur: كۈلكە (külke) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Uzbek: kulgi — sound (as) of laughing
  • Uzbek: kulish — sound (as) of laughing
  • Uzbek: qahqaha — sound (as) of laughing
  • Vietnamese: sự cười — sound (as) of laughing
  • Vietnamese: tiếng cười — sound (as) of laughing
  • Yiddish: געלעכטער (gelekhter) — sound (as) of laughing
  • Armenian: ծիծաղ (cicaġ) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Armenian: քրքիջ (kʻrkʻiǰ) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Catalan: rialla — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Catalan: riure — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笑 (xiào) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Czech: smích — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Danish: grin — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Dutch: gelach — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Dutch: lachen — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Finnish: nauru — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • French: rire — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • German: Gelächter — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • German: Lachen — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Greek: γέλιο (gélio) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Ancient Greek: γέλως (gélōs) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Hungarian: nevetés — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Irish: gáire — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Italian: risata — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Japanese: 笑い (warai) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Khmer: សំណើច (sɑmnaəc) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Korean: 웃음 (useum) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Korean: 웃기 (utgi) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Lao: ສຽງຫົວ (sīang hūa) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Latin: rīsus — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Macedonian: смеа (smea) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Navajo: dloh — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Polish: śmiech — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Portuguese: risada — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Portuguese: riso — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Quechua: asiy — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Russian: смех (smex) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Skolt-Sami: smiâhh — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Scottish Gaelic: gàire — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Serbo-Croatian: сме̑х — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Serbo-Croatian: смије̑х — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Serbo-Croatian: smȇh — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Serbo-Croatian: smijȇh — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Swedish: skratt — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Tagalog: pagtawa — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
  • Ukrainian: сміх (smix) — movement of the muscles of the laughing face
Real reading context

laughter in complete knowledge articles