laughingstock; something people would laugh at
Used for a person, action, or situation that invites ridicule or makes one a laughingstock. Often appears in expressions like 人笑いになる or 人笑いだ.
そんな格好で外に出たら人笑いになるよ。
If you go outside looking like that, you'll be a laughingstock.
失敗を隠そうとして、かえって人笑いを招いた。
Trying to hide the failure only invited ridicule.
Compound of 人 (ひと, 'person, people') and 笑い (わらい, 'laugh, laughter'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the meaning 'something people laugh at' is transparent from the components.