- laugh
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 sound/act of laughingADJECTIVE▪ loud▪ light, little, short, slight, small, soft▪ deep, low, rich▪ big, good, great▪
The last joke got the biggest laugh.
▪ belly, booming, hearty▪ harsh, shrill▪ barking, husky, throaty▪ sexy▪He laughed that warm, sexy laugh.
▪ tinkling▪ amused, delighted▪ embarrassed, nervous, shaky▪ bitter, cynical, derisive, dry, fake (esp. AmE), forced, hollow, humourless/humorless, mirthless, mocking, rueful, sarcastic, scornful, wry▪She forced a bitter laugh.
▪ genuine▪Nick responded with a genuine laugh.
▪ cruel, evil, sinister▪The man laughed, a harsh, evil laugh.
▪ cheap▪This movie is too intent upon getting cheap laughs.
▪ infectiousVERB + LAUGH▪ give, laugh, let out▪He gave a short, amused laugh.
▪She laughed a hollow laugh then fell silent.
▪ have▪ share▪We all shared a good laugh.
▪ force, manage▪ bite back (esp. AmE), choke back, hold back, smother (esp. AmE), stifle, suppress▪She tried to suppress a laugh, but ended up giggling anyway.
▪ enjoy, like▪He enjoys a good laugh.
▪ draw, earn (AmE), get, raise (BrE)▪That earned a laugh from everyone.
▪Few of his jokes got a laugh.
▪She got a laugh out of Jack.
▪ hearLAUGH + VERB▪ escape sb▪A small laugh escaped her.
▪ ring out▪A laugh rang out behind me.
PREPOSITION▪ for a laugh▪She dyed her hair green just for a laugh.
▪ with a laugh▪He left the room with a cynical laugh.
▪ laugh about, laugh at▪We all had a great laugh about it when we got home.
▪ laugh over▪I had a good laugh over that one.
PHRASES▪ be good for a laugh▪Paula's always good for a laugh (= always amusing).
▪ have the last laugh▪We'll have the last laugh if she finds out that you're the one who played the trick.
▪ a laugh at sb's expense▪Oh yes, very funny—have your laugh at my expense!
▪ the laugh is on sb (= sb looks ridiculous after they have tried to make fun of sb else)▪ play sb/sth for laughs▪She seemed unsure of whether to play her role seriously or for laughs.
2 sb/sth that is amusingADJECTIVE▪ good, great, realPHRASES▪ a barrel of laughs, a bit of a laugh, a laugh a minute (= very funny){{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ aloud, loudly, out loud▪It looked so funny that I almost laughed out loud.
▪ gently, inwardly, lightly, quietly, silently, softly, under your breath▪ deeply, hard, heartily, a lot, really, uproariously▪I have not heard an audience laugh so hard for a long time.
▪He laughed heartily at his own joke.
▪ just, merely, simply▪I thought she would be angry but she just laughed.
▪ almost▪ briefly, a little, shakily, sheepishly, shortly, slightly, weakly▪She laughed slightly as she saw my expression.
▪ suddenly▪ easily, freely▪She smiles and laughs easily.
▪ openly, outright▪ helplessly, uncontrollably▪ cheerfully, delightedly (esp. AmE), happily, merrily▪ hysterically▪ nervously, uneasily▪I laughed uneasily, trying to make light of the moment.
▪ politely▪ good-naturedly▪Emilio tilted his head back and laughed good-naturedly.
▪ incredulously, in disbelief▪ triumphantly▪ bitterly, coldly, cynically, derisively, drily, evilly, grimly, harshly, hollowly, humourlessly/humorlessly, mirthlessly, mockingly, ruefully, sarcastically, scornfully, wickedly, wryly▪He realized how he had been fooled, and laughed bitterly.
▪ insanely, madly, maniacally, manically▪ together▪They were talking and laughing together.
VERB + LAUGH▪ have to, want to▪He looked so funny I just had to laugh.
▪ begin to, start to▪ try not to▪I was watching them and trying not to laugh.
▪ learn to▪Don't take life too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself.
▪ make sb▪He pulled a funny face to make us laugh.
▪ hear sb▪I heard him suddenly laugh aloud.
PREPOSITION▪ about▪Tomorrow you'll be able to laugh about this.
▪ at▪The audience laughed at her jokes.
▪ in▪Sam shook her head, laughing in amusement.
▪ over▪We were laughing over some joke Bentley had told.
▪ with▪She spent time talking and laughing with the children.
▪Trent almost laughed with relief.
PHRASES▪ burst out laughing, bust out laughing (AmE)▪ can't help laughing, can't stop laughing▪She was fooling around and we couldn't stop laughing.
▪ fall about laughing (BrE)▪It was so funny we just fell about laughing.
▪ find yourself laughing▪He laughed, and she found herself laughing with him.
▪ start laughing▪Vivian started laughing hysterically.
▪ stop laughingLaugh is used with these nouns as the object: ↑laugh
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
