to gag with laughter
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- She was gagging with laughter all through the comedy show.
Examples
-
She gagged with laughter at the comedian's joke.
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The children gagged with laughter during the clown's silly performance.
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I nearly gagged with laughter at his outrageous story.
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Don't gag with laughter during the presentation!
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The joke was so funny that I started to gag with laughter during the meeting.
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When she told her story, the audience couldn't help but gag with laughter at her hilarious impressions.
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He nearly gagged with laughter when he saw the ridiculous dance moves of his friend.
Synonyms
To laugh loudly and without control
Laugh loudly and without control
Start laughing very hard and cannot stop
To suddenly start laughing loudly and not be able to stop
To make loud, long sounds because something is very funny
To laugh very hard
To make loud sounds you cannot stop because something is very funny
To laugh very hard at something funny online
Laugh so hard that your body shakes
Feel so amused that you fall over and move on the floor
Laugh loudly and deeply, making your stomach move
To laugh loudly because something is very funny
Antonyms
How Intense
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'gag' (to choke/retch) combined with the prepositional phrase 'with laughter' straightforwardly indicates choking caused by laughter, so the basic causal meaning is derivable from the constituents. However, 'gag' is more commonly associated with disgust or physical choking, so the specific sense of being overwhelmed by laughter is a metaphorical extension and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without some exposure.
Etymology
Gag with laughter uses the word gag, which means to choke, and creates the image of someone laughing so hard they feel like they might cough or choke. So, it means 'to laugh uncontrollably'.