Being in stitches means laughing so hard that you can't stop. People most often say be in stitches or have someone in stitches, which means making someone laugh until they cry. A stitch here is a sharp pain in your side, like the one you get after running.
When would you say in stitches?
Write a sentence — we'll check that the expression fits the situation and suggest what to fix.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
be in stitches; have/keep someone in stitches
- The best man's speech had all the wedding guests in stitches.
- My little brother kept us in stitches during the long drive to the coast.
- We were in stitches when our manager tried to dance at the office party.
What changed
First versionHis jokes made us in stitches all evening.
RevisionHis jokes had us in stitches all evening.
Made us laugh is a common phrase, so it is tempting to attach in stitches to the same pattern. But the idiom works with have or keep: have someone in stitches. You can say made us laugh or had us in stitches, but not a mix of the two.
The word stitches can also refer to the ones a doctor uses to close a wound: The cut needed six stitches. The context tells you which meaning is meant: in stitches is always about laughter. The idiom is informal; in an essay, find something hilarious or laugh a lot is simpler.
Your turn
The comedian was so funny that the whole audience was ___ from start to finish.
Show the answer
in stitches — The comedian was very funny, so the audience couldn't stop laughing: in stitches. On edge means nervous, and people say it about anxiety, not laughter.
Think of someone who made you laugh a lot recently. Write who it was and what exactly made you laugh.
My flatmate had us in stitches last night with his story about getting locked out of a hotel room in his pyjamas.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.