What does yawning mean?
Yawning is the repeated or single action of opening the mouth wide and taking a deep breath, usually in response to tiredness, boredom, or drowsiness. As a participle, it can also describe someone who appears sleepy or something that is wide open, as in a “yawning gap.” The word is ordinary in everyday English, but the adjective sense “wide-open” is more literary and is often used to make a visual or figurative description vivid. Yawning is also notable because it is contagious: seeing, hearing, or even thinking about a yawn can prompt the same response in others, although the reason is not fully understood. In conversation, “yawning” often implies that someone is struggling to stay awake rather than describing a dramatic or unusual event. The word is useful because it captures both a familiar physical gesture and the figurative idea of an opening too large to overlook.
To open the mouth wide and inhale deeply, usually because of tiredness, boredom, or drowsiness.
"She yawned and stretched as the long train journey continued."
This is the dominant everyday sense. “Yawn” is the standard noun for the act or the sound.
Sleepy or drowsy; or wide open and gaping.
"A yawning gap separated the two sections of the cliff."
The wide-open sense is especially common in literary, descriptive, and figurative usage.
Yawning is contagious: seeing, hearing, or even thinking about one can make you want to do the same.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does yawning come from?
“Yawning” comes from the Middle English forms of the verb, based on Old English ġānian, meaning to open the mouth wide. The English verb belongs to a wider Germanic family that includes German gähnen, Dutch gapen, Swedish gäspa, and Danish or Norwegian gaber, all referring to yawning. The related modern English noun “yawn” developed from the same verbal root.
Related word forms
How yawning is actually used
In modern English, “yawning” is commonly the present participle of “yawn.” When used before a noun, it can mean either sleepy or wide open, depending on context; the latter sense is especially common in literary and figurative descriptions. The simple present “yawns” is standard for the third-person singular.