Definition

1. Noun:
   • A ditch with one side being a retaining wall: A type of sunken fence or ha-ha, used as a boundary in a garden or landscape that does not interrupt the view.
   • A loud laugh that sounds like a horse neighing: A boisterous, often rude or mocking laugh that resembles the sound a horse makes.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Ditch):

  • The estate's ha-ha, or haw-haw, kept the sheep out of the formal gardens without a visible fence.
  • They walked right up to the haw-haw before realizing there was a deep ditch.

• Noun (Laugh):

  • His loud haw-haw echoed across the room, drawing everyone's attention.
  • She let out a derisive haw-haw at his clumsy attempt.

Advanced Usage

• "to give a haw-haw": to emit such a loud, neighing laugh.
  • The villain in the play gave a menacing haw-haw.

Variants and Related Words

• Ha-ha (n): This is the more common modern spelling for the landscape feature (the sunken fence). "Haw-haw" is an older or variant spelling.
• Guffaw (n): A loud, hearty laugh. This is a more common synonym for the sound of laughter.

Synonyms

• For the laugh: guffaw, bray, cachinnation, horse laugh.
• For the ditch: sunken fence, ha-ha, sunk fence, ditch.

Related Phrases

• Horse laugh: A coarse, loud laugh, very similar in meaning to "haw-haw" when referring to laughter.

Related Idioms

• To laugh like a horse: To laugh in a very loud and uninhibited way. This idiom is directly related to the meaning of "haw-haw" as a type of laugh.

Noun

1. a ditch with one side being a retaining wall; used to divide lands without defacing the landscape
2. a loud laugh that sounds like a horse neighing