What does humor mean?

Definitions for humor
ˈhyu mər; often ˈyu-hu·mor

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word humor.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. wit, humor, humour, witticism, wittinessnoun

    a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

  2. humor, humour, sense of humor, sense of humournoun

    the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous

    "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor"

  3. temper, mood, humor, humournoun

    a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling

    "whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time"; "he was in a bad humor"

  4. humor, humournoun

    the quality of being funny

    "I fail to see the humor in it"

  5. humor, humournoun

    (Middle Ages) one of the four fluids in the body whose balance was believed to determine your emotional and physical state

    "the humors are blood and phlegm and yellow and black bile"

  6. liquid body substance, bodily fluid, body fluid, humor, humourverb

    the liquid parts of the body

  7. humor, humourverb

    put into a good mood

Wiktionary

  1. humornoun

    The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.

  2. humornoun

    One of four fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm) that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.

  3. humornoun

    A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.

    He was in a particularly vile humor that afternoon.

  4. humornoun

    Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.

  5. humornoun

    A fluid or semi-fluid of the body.

  6. humorverb

    To pacify by indulging.

    I know you don't believe my story, but humor me for a minute and imagine it to be true.

Wikipedia

  1. humor

    Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Latin: humorcode: lat promoted to code: la , "body fluid"), controlled human health and emotion. People of all ages and cultures respond to humour. Most people are able to experience humour—be amused, smile or laugh at something funny (such as a pun or joke)—and thus are considered to have a sense of humour. The hypothetical person lacking a sense of humour would likely find the behaviour to be inexplicable, strange, or even irrational. Though ultimately decided by personal taste, the extent to which a person finds something humorous depends on a host of variables, including geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education, intelligence and context. For example, young children may favour slapstick such as Punch and Judy puppet shows or the Tom and Jerry cartoons, whose physical nature makes it accessible to them. By contrast, more sophisticated forms of humour such as satire require an understanding of its social meaning and context, and thus tend to appeal to a more mature audience.

ChatGPT

  1. humor

    Humor is a quality or phenomenon that arouses laughter, amusement or a sense of comedic fun. It often arises from unusual, unexpected or absurd situations. Its forms can vary greatly, such as language-based jokes, physical comedy, or observational humor related to daily life. It is often used to entertain, lighten the mood, or ease social interactions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Humornoun

    moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc

  2. Humornoun

    a vitiated or morbid animal fluid, such as often causes an eruption on the skin

  3. Humornoun

    state of mind, whether habitual or temporary (as formerly supposed to depend on the character or combination of the fluids of the body); disposition; temper; mood; as, good humor; ill humor

  4. Humornoun

    changing and uncertain states of mind; caprices; freaks; vagaries; whims

  5. Humornoun

    that quality of the imagination which gives to ideas an incongruous or fantastic turn, and tends to excite laughter or mirth by ludicrous images or representations; a playful fancy; facetiousness

  6. Humorverb

    to comply with the humor of; to adjust matters so as suit the peculiarities, caprices, or exigencies of; to adapt one's self to; to indulge by skillful adaptation; as, to humor the mind

  7. Humorverb

    to help on by indulgence or compliant treatment; to soothe; to gratify; to please

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. humor

    The tabasco sauce that gives life a flavor.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Humor

    Works consisting of jokes and facetiae relating to a subject.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. HUMOR

    An outbreak, either of skin or brains frequently branded as Rash.

Editors Contribution

  1. humor

    The ability to create, perceive and express ourselves with fun and laughter.

    Humor is vital in life for all of humanity.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 17, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. Humor

    Humour vs Humor -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Humour and Humor.

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce humor?

How to say humor in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of humor in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of humor in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of humor in a Sentence

  1. Matt Damon:

    (Weir) really got this guy with this great sense of humor, really smart and really capable guy, but somebody who has that great kind of gallows humor that people who do this kind of work tend to have.

  2. Keith Morrison:

    A million things have sprung from that, but Matthew Perry being selected for a role like that does not surprise me one bit. It matched Matthew Perry particular sense of humor precisely, whether they wrote that for Matthew Perry knowing what Matthew Perry was like or whether Matthew Perry adapted it more for himself, probably a combination of the two. But that character is Matthew. Yeah, and it always has been him. Hes just a talented soul, a smart guy, hes a good guy. We love having him around.

  3. Justin Spitzer:

    The fact that it has stayed so popular for so long, and that there is this whole other generation discovering it, is amazing, comedy modes change so much through the generations -- it's really rare to see that this vein of humor is as popular now as it was back then.

  4. Artist Leah Miriam Cooper:

    When I started the project I had always felt as if I had nothing in common with the people in the photographs, but now, it's apparent that we share many traits -- from physical features, how we set up our homes, to small bits of humor.

  5. Gloria Allred:

    Ms. Haddish appears to have made a laughing matter of the serious issue of drugging and sexual assault, but drugging and sexual assault are not a laughing matter, these allegations against Mr. Cosby are serious and not funny and should not be made the subject matter of attempted humor. Ms. Haddish should consider apologizing to those individuals who have been victims of sexual assault after being drugged.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for humor

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"humor." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 20 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/humor>.

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