laugh vs laughter

laugh

noun
  • An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. 

  • A fun person. 

  • Something that provokes mirth or scorn. 

verb
  • To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter. 

  • To express by, or utter with, laughter. 

  • To make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride; to mock. 

  • To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule. 

laughter

noun
  • The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound. 

  • A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs. 

How often have the words laugh and laughter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )