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# yawn

«yawn» in Mova's school dictionary: **to open your mouth very wide and breathe in deeply…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (yawn, yawns, yawned, yawning); noun (a yawn, yawns)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To yawn means to open your mouth very wide and breathe in deeply, usually because you are tired or bored. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#m1)

2) A yawn is the act of yawning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#m2)

3) Something boring can be called «a yawn». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#m3)

4) A yawning gap or hole is very wide and open. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, yawning is a reflex; it is catching (contagious): seeing someone yawn often makes you yawn too, even dogs. In everyday manners, cover your mouth when you yawn. In stories a yawn shows a character is tired or bored. Phrases: «stifle a yawn», «a yawning gap», «what a yawn».

### examples

- I yawned all through the long film. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x1)
- Cover your mouth when you yawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x2)
- When Dad yawned, we all started yawning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x3)
- The baby gave a big yawn and fell asleep. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x4)
- She tried to stifle a yawn in assembly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x5)
- The cat yawned and showed its sharp teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x6)
- That boring speech was a real yawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x7)
- A yawning hole opened in the road after the flood. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x8)
- Then the little Tsar rose upon his feet, stretched himself, and yawned. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/#x9)

### note

Regular verb: «yawned». Pronounced YAWN (rhymes with «dawn»). Yawning is not always about sleepiness; it can happen with boredom, nerves or seeing others yawn.

### In the corpora

- [Vivid example: in Manchester, Freya comes home from a sleepover yawning.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings/4/)
- [Caimans and crocodiles bask with their mouths open to let heat escape and cool down; it is not a threat or a yawn.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/42-the-capybara/16/)
- [Mandrills have very long canine teeth, and a wide yawn shows them off as a warning to rivals.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/126-the-lion-king-hyenas-rafiki-and-zazu/12/)
- [Dogs sometimes catch yawns from people, more often from their own owners.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/237-animal-minds-what-dogs-and-cats-feel-and-understand-and-do-cats-really-chase-mice/14/)
- ["Technicolour yawn" is joking Australian slang for vomit.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/7-wind-sick-and-runs/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «yawn» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Y/yawn/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.