yawn, yawning, oscitance, oscitancy (verb)

an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom

"he could not suppress a yawn"; "the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop"; "he apologized for his oscitancy"

yawn (verb)

utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired

"The child yawned during the long performance"

gape, yawn, yaw (verb)

be wide open

"the deep gaping canyon"

yawn (Noun)

The action of yawning; opening the mouth widely and taking a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired.

yawn (Noun)

A particularly boring event.

yawn (Verb)

To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.

yawn (Verb)

To present an opening that appears able to swallow one up, literally or metaphorically:

Yawn

A yawn is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by exhalation of breath. Pandiculation is the act of yawning and stretching simultaneously. Yawning is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation and boredom, though recent studies show it may be linked to the cooling of the brain. In humans, yawning is often triggered by others yawning and is a typical example of positive feedback. This "infectious" yawning has also been observed in chimpanzees and dogs. Yawn comes from Old English 'Ginian' and 'Gionian' meaning to "Open the mouth wide, gape," which in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic base gin-.