What does yarking mean?
Yarking means laughing loudly, usually with sustained and boisterous energy. It is chiefly a British informal verb, encountered more often in speech and lively writing than in formal prose, and its implication is generally unrestrained amusement rather than quiet amusement. A person might be described as “yarking with laughter,” while a noisy audience may be “yarking” at a performance. The word can also have the older, less common sense of talking or calling out loudly, but laughter is its dominant modern association. Its sound and history fit its meaning: yarking is generally traced to the nineteenth century as an imitative formation modeled on a sharp, open vocal noise. Though less common than simply saying “laughing,” it is useful in vivid description because it captures both volume and infectious high spirits. It also belongs to the broader family of expressive sound words that make laughter audible in language.
verbTo laugh loudly, especially in a sustained or boisterous way. In older usage, it can also mean to speak or call out loudly.
- To laugh loudly or boisterously, especially continuously.
- To speak or call out loudly, now chiefly archaic.
"The children were yarking with laughter in the back seat."
"The children were yarking with laughter in the back seat."
"By the end of the comedy routine, the whole audience was yarking loudly."
Yarking is laughter that insists on being heard: loud, sustained, and full of high spirits.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yarking
Yarking is the present participle of yark, an imitative verb meaning to laugh or speak loudly. The word is generally dated to the nineteenth century, and its exact historical development is uncertain beyond its imitative association with a loud, open vocal sound.
Related word forms
How yarking is actually used
Chiefly British and informal, it is more common in speech and lively writing than in formal prose. It usually conveys sustained, unrestrained amusement rather than quiet or restrained laughter.
Easily confused with yarking
Barking usually describes the sharp cry of a dog or, figuratively, loud speech, whereas yarking primarily describes loud or boisterous laughter.