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:
A red cartoon hunk of steak, a bronzed turkey, a few shrimp, a tub of unsweetened yogurt, an apple and a bag of frozen peas cascade alongside him.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
The company’s hope is that fans of “Spidey” will graduate to its grade-school cartoon on Disney+, called “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” and then start watching the movies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
After 18 years and more than 50 superhero movies and television series, Marvel Studios has one of the biggest hits in its history with a preschool cartoon called “Spidey and his Amazing Friends.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
A judge has ordered all videos featuring popular animated character Wolfoo to be removed from platforms including YouTube after ruling that the cartoon illegally copied audio from Peppa Pig.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Like when cartoon skunks smell a pie on a windowsill and float uncontrollably toward it.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Although Japanese popular culture had a mainstream presence in the U.S., most of us associated it with, say, Nintendo games or after-school cartoons like “Voltron” and all their associated ruckus.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
“When you watch cartoons by Tex Avery or Chuck Jones, everything calls back to the perfect timing and the slapstick of those actors,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Ow,” Ayden yelped, cartoons playing in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Brian said while getting a Playground meant they "compromised on increased screen time", the games still encouraged active play "in a way typical cartoons or movies were unable to".
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
He said he could see himself in Japanese cartoons in a way he couldn't with American ones, so he started collecting Japanese comics.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
