Meaning
To laugh off means to treat something (such as a problem, criticism, or an embarrassing situation) as unimportant by joking or laughing about it instead of taking it seriously.
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Phrasal verb
- Pattern: laugh sth off (transitive)
- Used with an object (the thing being dismissed).
Example structure:
-
laugh + object + off
- She laughed the mistake off.
Common Phrases
- laugh off criticism
- laugh off rumors
- laugh off embarrassment
- laugh off a mistake
Collocations
- laugh off an insult
- laugh off a problem
- laugh off concerns
- laugh off failure
- laugh off danger
Examples
- He laughed off the criticism and kept doing what he loved.
- She tried to laugh off her mistake during the meeting.
- The actor laughed off the rumors about his private life.
- He laughed off the accident as if it had never happened.
- The manager laughed off the team’s concerns, but later took action.
- She laughed off the embarrassment of tripping on stage.
- He laughed off the insult instead of arguing back.
- They laughed off the rumors spreading on social media.
Synonyms or Related
- brush off
- shrug off
- dismiss
- downplay
Antonym
- take seriously
- dwell on
- emphasize