LAUGH

Meaning

An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter.

“His deep laughs boomed through the room.”

• verbTo show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter.

LAUGH as a word-puzzle answer

LAUGH is a 5-letter word with 2 vowels (A, U) and 3 consonants (L, G, H). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

It leans on high-frequency letters (A), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. There are no rare letters here, so it is a fair, mid-difficulty answer for the daily Classic puzzle.

LAUGH by the numbers

Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, A appears in 40% of answers (the 2nd most common letter), L appears in 26% of answers (the 8th most common letter), U appears in 18% of answers (the 12th most common letter). 13 other answers share the opening “LA-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 1/5 — very approachable, because its letters are common and no close neighbors compete with it.

Put it to use

Words like LAUGH are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover all nine.