yawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈyȯn 

ˈyän

yawned; yawning; yawns

intransitive verb

1

: to open wide : gape

2

: to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom

transitive verb

1

: to utter with a yawn

2

: to accomplish with or impel by yawns

his grandchildren yawned him to bed

—L. L. King

yawn

2 of 2

noun

1

: gap, cavity

2

: an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom

also : a reaction resembling a yawn

a … success at the box office but drew only yawns from critics

—Current Biography

3

: bore entry 5

this book is kind of a yawn

—Ilene L. Cooper

Synonyms

Noun

• bore
• drag
• drip
• droner
• dullsville
• nudnik
• nudnick
• snooze
• snoozer
• yawner

Examples of yawn in a Sentence

Verb

Students were yawning in class.

Noun

I tried to stifle a yawn.

as neither candidate was willing to make an unequivocal statement about anything, the debate proved to be a complete yawn

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The potential solution, detailed in a study published in the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, requires first classifying various facial gestures like yawning, blinking, and breathing as individual waveforms. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Jan. 2025

More than three-fourths of the drowsy driving events to which it has been alerted by dash cams since October were detected by behaviors other than yawning alone. —IEEE Spectrum, 26 Nov. 2024

Noun

Lastly, Guthrie posted a picture of the girls at the end of the party, posing on a red truck while Mila feigned a yawn. —Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024

Downstairs, the afternoon stretches out and yawns, silent but secretly hopeful. —Carolyn Figel, Hazlitt, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English yenen, yanen, from Old English ginian; akin to Old High German ginēn to yawn, Latin hiare, Greek chainein

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

yawn

1 of 2 verb

ˈyȯn 

ˈyän

1

: to open wide : gape

2

: to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as a reaction to being tired or bored

yawner noun

yawn

2 of 2 noun

: an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction

Medical Definition

yawn

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈyȯn, ˈyän 

: to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom

yawn

2 of 2 noun

: an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom