And at that moment he heard Masha's ringing laugh.
This entry is concerned with the use of the word смех to refer to the action and sound of laughing, i.e. to the expression of merriment or amusement. Note that the English word "laughter" corresponds to two Russian words: смех and хохот. For the
difference between these words, see Lexical Relationships: Synonyms. The word смех is also used informally to refer to something insignificant or ridiculous, e.g. Ну что это за работа! Просто смех! "What kind of work is that?
It's a joke!" This usage is not described in this entry.