as in laughter
an explosive sound that is a sign of amusement
humorous anecdotes that are likely to evoke lots of smiles but few belly laughs
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Recent Examples of belly laugh
Morrison misses his late partner’s gigantic belly laugh that would engulf everything in its orbit.
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Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2024
Nothing was off-limits in Mad, a newsstand stalwart that would reach peak annual sales in the 1970s of 2.5 million issues by delivering belly laughs and self-satisfaction to America’s class clowns through cartoons, parodies, sarcastic characters and an unending stream of gross-out gags.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024
Just try your best to separate big belly laughs from bites of food, and save the call to mom for when you’re entirely finished eating.
—Julia Sullivan, SELF, 9 July 2024
Harris asks, surrendering to one of her famous belly laughs.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 5 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for belly laugh 
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2024
Nothing was off-limits in Mad, a newsstand stalwart that would reach peak annual sales in the 1970s of 2.5 million issues by delivering belly laughs and self-satisfaction to America’s class clowns through cartoons, parodies, sarcastic characters and an unending stream of gross-out gags.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024
Just try your best to separate big belly laughs from bites of food, and save the call to mom for when you’re entirely finished eating.
—Julia Sullivan, SELF, 9 July 2024
Harris asks, surrendering to one of her famous belly laughs.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 5 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for belly laugh
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belly laugh
Noun
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But Gen Zers have recast the emoji as a symbol of hysterical laughter.Aarushi Bhandari, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
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Back in 2017, their press tour for Spider-Man: Homecoming was a flirtatious tour de force: Zendaya always doubled over in laughter, Tom comforting an anxious Zendaya with a gentle hand on her knee, both of them constantly pulling the same silly face or one-liner out at the same exact time.Ivana Rihter, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The fluoride line gets some giggles, but not from me or an American couple sitting nearby.Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2025
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In that movie, Sally Hawkins played the sweet-souled Poppy, who greeted every misfortune with a giggle of unvexed good will, and who remains one of the most polarizing protagonists in the Leigh canon.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The fake laugh would be ‘gasp gasp,’ a kind of inhale.Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
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Rivers said with a laugh before his Bucks’ faced Thibodeau’s Knicks at Madison Square Garden.Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 12 Jan. 2025
Noun
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So he must be placed in the Apparition section, next to ghosts like John Barron, sharing a snicker with Ivana.Greg Marotta, New York Daily News, 12 Jan. 2025
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There are private snickers about the offense’s lack of imagination, the team’s absence of leadership and the dearth of talent.Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 22 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near belly laugh
Cite this Entry
“Belly laugh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belly%20laugh. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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