verb
yawn
yawn
verb
1
To open the mouth wide and take a deep breath involuntarily, usually from tiredness or boredom.
"She tried to stifle a yawn during the long meeting."
"He yawned twice before finally admitting he needed to go to bed."
noun
1
The act of yawning.
"A big yawn spread across the room as the lecture dragged on."
2
Something extremely boring.
"The meeting was a total yawn from start to finish."
How to Use Yawn
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe wide-mouthed deep breath you take when tired or bored, or (informally) something dull enough to cause one.
Common pairings
stifle a yawn
big yawn
what a yawn
Word Forms
yawned past tense, yawns plural, Yawns plural, yawns singular
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Etymology
From Old English ġinian and gānian, both meaning "to gape or yawn," tracing back to a very old Indo-European root for opening the mouth wide.