YAWN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does yawn mean? 

• YAWN (noun)
  The noun YAWN has 1 sense:

1. an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom

  Familiarity information: YAWN used as a noun is very rare.

• YAWN (verb)
  The verb YAWN has 2 senses:

1. utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired

2. be wide open

  Familiarity information: YAWN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• YAWN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

oscitance; oscitancy; yawn; yawning

Context example:

he apologized for his oscitancy

Hypernyms ("yawn" is a kind of...):

inborn reflex; innate reflex; instinctive reflex; physiological reaction; reflex; reflex action; reflex response; unconditioned reflex (an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "yawn"):

pandiculation (yawning and stretching (as when first waking up))

Derivation:

yawn (utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired)

• YAWN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they yawn    ... he / she / it yawns   
Past simple: yawned   
Past participle: yawned   
-ing form: yawning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

The child yawned during the long performance

Hypernyms (to "yawn" is one way to...):

breathe; respire; suspire; take a breath (draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

yawn (an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom)

yawner (a person who yawns)

yawning (an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be wide open

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

gape; yaw; yawn

Context example:

the deep gaping canyon

Hypernyms (to "yawn" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

Too many thousands of opened books yawned between them and him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

And there Meg sat, to 'rest and read', which meant to yawn and imagine what pretty summer dresses she would get with her salary.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"I ran as fast as I could," he said, sitting down and yawning, "but the flowers were too strong for me. How did you get me out?"

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“You haven't got a sister, have you?” said Steerforth, yawning.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A yawning hole was all that was to be seen.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Again the arch yawns; they come.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

What were the yawns of Lady Bertram?

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“If it’s a local villain there should not be much difficulty in running him down,” said Holmes with a yawn.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Even if we aren't tired, why do we yawn if someone else does?

(Why Is Yawning so Contagious?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)