laughter
gb/lˈæftɚ/ us/lˈæftɚ/
A2
English
~ 1100
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
event
1
The act or sound of laughing
The sound people make when they think something is funny or are happy.
Usage pattern:
[someone]'s laughter
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'laughter' (the sound) with 'laugh' (the verb or countable noun for individual instances). 'Laughter' is uncountable and not used in plural form.
Synonyms
giggle (A lighter, often higher-pitched form of laughter, sometimes nervous or playful.)
|
chuckle (A quiet, restrained kind of laughter.)
Antonyms
silence (The absence of sound, which contrasts with the noise of laughter.)
Collocations
burst of laughter
|roar of laughter
|loud laughter
|nervous laughter
|ringing laughter
Themes
emotions
|daily life
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Her laughter filled the room with warmth.
- The comedian’s jokes brought loud laughter from the audience.
- He tried to hide his laughter during the meeting.
- Their shared laughter made the evening special.
- I could hear children’s laughter from the playground.
Learner examples
- We heard loud laughter from the next room.
- The baby’s laughter made everyone smile.
- Her laughter is very beautiful.
- They could not stop their laughter.
- Laughter came from the kitchen.
Grammar
Dictionary form
laughter
IPA
GB/lˈæftɚ/
US/lˈæftɚ/
Syllables & stress
laughter (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (laughter)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: laughter
- Plural: laughter, laughters
Word family
Forms
laughters
noun
Core family
laugh
verb A1
Advanced or less common
laughable
adjective
laughably
adverb
Expressions
die of laughter
1/dˈaɪ əv lˈæftɚ/
idiom
informal
Laugh extremely hard
To laugh so much that it feels like you might die (not literal).
Examples
- We were dying of laughter during the comedy.
- She nearly died of laughter when she saw the video.
laughter is the best medicine
1/lˈæftɚ ˈɪz ðə bˈɛst mˈɛdɪsən/
idiom
Laughing improves mood or health
Laughing can make you feel better and healthier.
Examples
- They say laughter is the best medicine for stress.
- For a bad day, remember that laughter is the best medicine.
burst into laughter
1/bˈɚst ˈɪntu lˈæftɚ/
fixed phrase
suddenly start laughing
To start laughing suddenly, often together with other people.
Examples
- The children burst into laughter when the clown fell over.
- The whole class burst into laughter when the lights went out.
- She burst into laughter at his silly joke.
- The audience burst into laughter at his first joke.
in stitches
1/ˈɪn stˈɪt͡ʃɪz/
idiom
informal
laughing very hard
laughing a lot and very strongly, often so much that your body hurts a little
Examples
- The comedian had the whole audience in stitches.
- Her story about the vacation disaster left us in stitches.
- That video was so funny it had me in stitches.
in stitches
2/ˈɪn stˈɪt͡ʃɪz/
idiom
informal
Unable to stop laughing
Laughing so much that you cannot stop.
Examples
- His jokes had us all in stitches.
- We were in stitches watching that movie.
roar with laughter
1/ɹˈɔɹ wˈɪθ lˈæftɚ/
idiom
Laugh very loudly
To laugh in a very loud way.
Examples
- The audience roared with laughter throughout the show.
- He roared with laughter at her witty remark.
roar with laughter
2/ɹˈɔɹ wˈɪθ lˈæftɚ/
idiom
Laugh very loudly and strongly
To laugh very loudly and strongly because something is very funny.
Examples
- The whole class roared with laughter when he made a silly face.
- She told such a funny story that we all roared with laughter.