yawn
To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is…To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
Recorded: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» We yawn when we are short of oxygen.
Ми позіхаємо, коли нам не вистачає кисню. — aandrusiak
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 1
Examples
120 sentencesWe yawn when we are short of oxygen.
Ми позіхаємо, коли нам не вистачає кисню. — aandrusiak
Why are you yawning?
Чому ти позіхаєш? — deniko
ruПочему ты зеваешь? — odexed
deWarum gähnst du? — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom is yawning.
Том позітхає. — deniko
ruТом зевает. — sharptoothed
deTom gähnt. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Meaning
5 senses(intransitive)To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
I could see my students yawning, so I knew the lesson was boring them.
gähnen
зева́тьzevátʹ, зевну́тьzevnútʹ
позіха́тиpozixáty, позіхну́тиpozixnúty, зіва́тиziváty
To present a wide opening; gape.
The canyon yawns as it has done for millions of years, and we stand looking, dumbstruck.
Death yawned before us, and I hit the brakes.
зия́тьzijátʹ
To say while yawning.
More meanings 2
(obsolete)To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment.
(obsolete)To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning.
to yawn for fat livings
- utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired
- be wide open
Origin
Partly from Middle English yanen, yonen, yenen (“to yawn”), from Old English ġeonian, ġiniPartly from Middle English yanen, yonen, yenen (“to yawn”), from Old English ġeonian, ġinian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-West Germanic *ginōn, from Proto-Germanic *ginōną (“to yawn”); and partly from Middle English gonen (“to gape, yawn”), from Old English gānian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-West Germanic *gainōn, from Proto-Germanic *gainōną (“to yawn, gape”); both from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰi-, *ǵʰeyh₁- (“to yawn, gape”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
yawns, yawning, yawned, yawnedTenses
yawn · yawned · will yawn · have yawnedSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.