v., yawned, yawn·ing, yawns. v.intr.
- To open the mouth wide with a deep inhalation, usually involuntarily from drowsiness, fatigue, or boredom.
- To open wide; gape: The chasm yawned at our feet.
To utter wearily, while or as if while yawning: yawned his disapproval of the silly venture.
n.
- The act of yawning.
- A fatigued or bored response.
- Informal. One that provokes yawns; a bore: The movie was nothing more than one big yawn.
[Middle English yanen, alteration of yonen, yenen, from Old English geonian.]
yawner yawn'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
