This is the 11998th most frequent French word.
tiraient
"Tiraient" means "were pulling" or "were shooting," depending on context.
Here, 'tiraient' is the imperfect tense form of the verb 'tirer', used to indicate a past continuous action of pulling.
Ils tiraient la porte pour l'ouvrir.
They were pulling the door to open it.
'Tiraient' in this context conveys a figurative sense associated with eliciting or producing laughter.
Elles tiraient souvent des éclats de rire en écoutant des histoires drôles.
They often burst into laughter listening to funny stories.
Here, 'tiraient' is used to describe the action of shooting, a specific use of 'tirer' in the context of projecting something.