cartoon
Americannoun
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cartoons
plural
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a sketch or drawing, usually humorous, as in a newspaper or periodical, symbolizing, satirizing, or caricaturing some action, subject, or person of popular interest.
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Fine Arts. a full-scale design for a picture, ornamental motif or pattern, or the like, to be transferred to a fresco, tapestry, etc.
adjective
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a humorous or satirical drawing, esp one in a newspaper or magazine, concerning a topical event
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Also called: comic strip. a sequence of drawings in a newspaper, magazine, etc, relating a comic or adventurous situation
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See animated cartoon
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a full-size preparatory sketch for a fresco, tapestry, mosaic, etc, from which the final work is traced or copied
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cartoon
First recorded in 1665–75; from Italian cartone “pasteboard, stout paper, a drawing on such paper,” equivalent to cart(a) “paper” ( see carte) + -one augmentative suffix
Explanation
A cartoon makes a brief, funny comment using illustrations and is often found on television, in a newspaper or in a magazine. The Simpsons and Snoopy? Both cartoons. A cartoon can be a satirical or humorous drawing, a series of illustrations (also called a comic strip), or an animated film. Many kids grow up watching new and classic cartoons on TV. Political cartoons manage to sum up an often complex idea in one simple panel. When you criticize a character or a real person for being a cartoon, you mean that they are overly simplified or exaggerated: "I hate that show because all the women are cartoon characters." The word comes from the Italian cartone, "strong, heavy paper."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Thematically, too, there was a determination to venture into more adult territory than any kids’ cartoon had previously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The paper's cartoon has also homed in on skyrocketing fuel costs, joking that staff at the pump "don't care what diesel cost when you started driving".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The cartoon turned the dynamic into an armed raid by cereal characters, but the basic instinct — watch a useful moral vocabulary become commercially useful — was already recognizable.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
For decades, cartoon canine Wile E. Coyote has been pursuing the speeding bird throughout the American Southwest, aiming to eat him and getting blown up in the process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
I draw a cartoon face with a big tongue on a sticky note, write YUMMY, EMMA!
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
The monk had appeared at a magistrate's hearing to support military intelligence officers accused of abducting Prageeth Eknaligoda, whose cartoons were critical of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
As well as his paintings on canvas, Mansour created cartoons, children's illustrations and wrote books.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Amid the gloom, one local nonprofit group is working to celebrate iconic cartoons to support the animators of today — and remind people of the joy of animation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
“I realize now, that’s where the cartoons get it from.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The news-reading public used spirit gossip, spirit cartoons, and spirit love stories as distractions from the realization that there seemed to be no peaceful way forward on the increasingly heated issue of slavery’s expansion.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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