# laughing stock

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/laughing-stock
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; the butt of a joke.

## Examples

- If you wear that silly costume, you will be a laughing stock.
- He avoids the stage because he hates being the laughing stock.
- She feels like a laughing stock when her phone rings during quiet movies.
- After his failed presentation, he became the laughing stock of the entire office for weeks.
- The team worried that losing to such a weak opponent would make them the laughing stock of the local league.
- When the expensive new bridge collapsed after one week, the construction company became a global laughing stock.
- The chef was afraid that serving raw chicken would turn his restaurant into a laughing stock among food critics.
- The politician feared that his public blunder would make him the laughing stock of the nation, effectively ending his career.

## Origin

From *laughing* + *stock*, in the sense of a source, supply, or target. The construction is a cognate of the similarly formed *whipping-stock* and *jesting-stock*, positioning the object of ridicule as the primary material from which the amusement is drawn.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.