What does humour mean?
Humour is the quality of being amusing, witty, or capable of making people laugh, and it is also an older term for a person's mood or general disposition. In its best-known sense, humour depends on incongruity, exaggeration, wordplay, or a sharp observation of everyday life. Someone with a good sense of humour can recognise and express the comic side of a situation, while humour in writing or performance may be gentle, absurd, satirical, or deliberately dark. The word can also describe a temporary state of mind, as in 'in good humour' or 'out of humour', although 'mood' is more usual in modern informal English. British and Commonwealth English generally spell the word humour, while American English uses humor. The term is useful because it can refer both to a quality that pervades a person's character and to a specific comic feature of a situation, without implying that humour must always be humorous in the sense of being objectively funny.
The quality of being amusing or capable of making people laugh.
"The lecture combined serious information with flashes of humour."
Often used with 'a sense of' when referring to a person's characteristic comic ability.
A person's mood, temperament, or attitude, especially in a state of being good-tempered or bad-tempered.
"After a sleepless night, he was in no humour to discuss the details."
This sense is more formal or literary than the everyday word mood.
A comic or playful quality in speech, writing, conduct, or a situation.
"The humour of the advertisement lay in its exaggerated formality."
Can refer to a particular comic style or feature, as well as to humour in general.
To agree with or accommodate someone's wishes, especially by tolerating or pleasing them.
"She humoured her younger brother by pretending to be impressed with his magic trick."
Chiefly British and Commonwealth usage; in American English, accommodate or go along with is more usual.
The plural is used for multiple instances of humour, and historically for particular temperaments or dispositions. In modern English, the mood sense is usually expressed in fixed singular phrases such as 'in good humour' and 'out of humour'.
"The programme brought together many different humours and comic styles."
Humour originally referred to body fluids, so the word has travelled remarkably far from its literal meaning to describe the quick, playful twist that makes us laugh.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does humour come from?
Humour entered English through Anglo-French humour, which came from Latin humor or humor, a term originally referring to moisture or bodily fluid. Its development toward meanings such as temperament and disposition was influenced by ideas about the fluids or humours traditionally believed to determine a person's character and mood. The modern sense of amusement and the capacity to provoke laughter developed through associated words such as humorous and humorist.
Related word forms
How humour is actually used
The spelling with an additional u is standard in British English and much of the Commonwealth, while American English normally uses humor. When referring to a person's mood, humour is often used in fixed expressions such as 'in good humour' and 'out of humour'; in these contexts it can sound more formal than mood.
Easily confused with humour
Humour is the usual British and Commonwealth spelling, while humor is the standard spelling in American English; the meanings are otherwise largely the same.