# laughing stock

> English word · Noun

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

## Etymology
From laughing + stock (“source, supply; butt, target”). Compare also whipping-stock, jesting-stock.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/laughing-stock