verb (used without object)
1.
to open the mouth somewhat involuntarily with a prolonged, deep inhalation and sighing or heavy exhalation, as from drowsiness or boredom.
2.
to open wide like a mouth.
3.
to extend or stretch wide, as an open and deep space.
verb (used with object)
4.
to say with a yawn.
5.
Archaic. to open wide, or lay open, as if by yawning.
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Yawn
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to bark; yelp. |
noun
6.
an act or instance of yawning.
7.
an opening; open space; chasm.
8.
Also, yawner. Informal. something so boring as to make one yawn: Critics say the new fashions are one big yawn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To yawn
Collins
World English Dictionary
yawn (jɔːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (intr) to open the mouth wide and take in air deeply, often as in involuntary reaction to tiredness, sleepiness, or boredom |
| 2. | (tr) to express or utter while yawning |
| 3. | (intr) to be open wide as if threatening to engulf (someone or something): the mine shaft yawned below |
| —n | |
| 4. | the act or an instance of yawning |
| [Old English gionian; related to Old Saxon ginōn, Old High German ginēn to yawn, Old Norse gjā gap] | |
| 'yawner | |
| —n | |
| 'yawning | |
| —adj | |
| 'yawningly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
yawn
c.1300, yenen, yonen, from O.E. ginian, gionian "open the mouth wide, gape," from P.Gmc. *gin- (cf. O.N. gina "to yawn," Du. geeuwen, O.H.G. ginen, Ger. gähnen "to yawn"), from PIE *gh(e)i- (cf. O.C.S. zijajo "to gape," Lith. zioju, Czech zivati "to yawn," Gk. khainein, L. hiare "to yawn, gape,"
Skt. vijihite "to gape, be ajar"). Noun meaning "act of yawning" is recorded from 1697. Yawner "something boring" is Amer.Eng. slang first recorded 1942 (yawn in this sense is attested from 1889).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
yawn (yôn)
v. yawned, yawn·ing, yawns
To open the mouth wide with a deep inhalation, usually involuntarily from drowsiness, fatigue, or boredom. n.
The act of yawning.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Then he gave a prolonged yawn, opening his mouth as wide as possible.
The impact of our little rocket is not even going to rate a yawn by cosmic standards.
The girlfriends yawn in the background, climbing up the stairs.
It will only get worse as state and city deficits yawn without government stimulus money to plug the hole.
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