Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

laughing stock

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.44 in modern English

Syllables: laugh-ing -s-tock
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

4

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; the butt of a joke.

Example Sentences

"Pray you let us not be laughing-stocks to other men's humours."
"When he talked, he talked nonsense, and made himself the laughing-stock of his hearers."
"If anyone can restore dignity to a franchise that has been close to a laughing stock in the last few years, it's Gibbs."
"The split was supposedly triggered by racism — specifically anti-Jewish racism. But on this front, the Independent Group have already become a laughingstock."
"Toronto Transit Corporation had real issues. [...] My boss was removed in a coup three months after my arrival. I stood in and my learning curve went through the roof. Over five years, we went from being a laughing stock to winning awards."

Etymology

From laughing + stock (“source, supply; butt, target”). Compare also whipping-stock, jesting-stock.

Inflected Forms

laughing stocks (plural) laughingstock (alternative) laughing-stock (alternative)

Synonyms

ass asshole butt clown dead horse dumbass dummy fiddle figure of fun fool gapingstock idiot

Questions

What does laughing stock mean?: An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; the butt of a joke.
Where does laughing stock come from?: From laughing + stock (“source, supply; butt, target”). Compare also whipping-stock, jesting-stock.

How to pronounce laughing stock

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