clown

American  

[kloun] / klaʊn /

noun

• clowns
  plural

1. a comic performer, as in a circus, theatrical production, or the like, who wears an outlandish costume and makeup and entertains by pantomiming common situations or actions in exaggerated or ridiculous fashion, by juggling or tumbling, etc.

2. a person who acts like a clown; comedian; joker; buffoon; jester.

3. a prankster; a practical joker.

   Synonyms:

   churl, lout

4. Slang. a coarse, ill-bred person; a boor.

   Synonyms:

   bumpkin

5. a peasant; rustic.

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verb (used without object)

• clowns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clowned,
  past participle,  past
• clowning
  present participle

1. to act like a clown.

clown British  

/ klaʊn /

noun

1. a comic entertainer, usually grotesquely costumed and made up, appearing in the circus

2. any performer who elicits an amused response

3. someone who plays jokes or tricks

4. a person who acts in a comic or buffoon-like manner

5. a coarse clumsy rude person; boor

6. archaic a countryman or rustic

---

verb

1. to perform as a clown

2. to play jokes or tricks

3. to act foolishly

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clownery
  noun
• clownishness
  noun
• clownish
  adjective
• clownishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clowns
  plural

Participles

• clowning
  present
• clowned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• clown
  simple
• clowns
  simple
• have clowned
  perfect
• has clowned
  perfect
• am clowning
  progressive
• are clowning
  progressive
• is clowning
  progressive
• have been clowning
  perfect progressive
• has been clowning
  perfect progressive

Past

• clowned
  simple
• had clowned
  perfect
• was clowning
  progressive
• were clowning
  progressive
• had been clowning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will clown
  simple
• will have clowned
  perfect
• will be clowning
  progressive
• will have been clowning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of clown

1555–65; earlier cloyne, clowne, perhaps akin to Old Norse klunni boor, Danish dialect klunds, Swedish dialect klunn log

Explanation

A clown is someone who makes people laugh, like the guy with the red nose and oversize polka dotted tie. It can also be an insult — a rude buffoon can be called a clown. To clown means to act goofy. The clowns found at circuses and birthday parties usually wear makeup and big shoes, but funny people in regular clothes are often called clowns, too, as in the class clown who tells jokes in school. Also, someone obnoxious can be called a clown, as in “that clown wrecked my car!” Acting like a clown in any way is clowning. A teacher trying to get the attention of kids who are fooling around might say, "Stop clowning around!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clown clowns clowned clowning

Mocha, who describes herself as a "fashion clown" and musical theatre lover, says it has taken her nearly a decade to get to this stage but feels it is the "right time".

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

A child could eat the fries and then go home and watch the clown who sold them solve a mystery.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

For months, the running joke at Philippe Gaulier’s famed clown school outside of Paris was that Jack Grossman was going to die alone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Curry, who died Tuesday at 80, made a gleefully evil turn as a clown that sparked nightmares for legions of Gen X and millennial viewers that continue to haunt to this day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

His cheekbone was red, like that Dawn clown from the dance had smacked him with her rouge.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

Live a calmer lifestyle, gel in obscurity, develop an edge, show up in January and make everyone east of the Mississippi look like clowns again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

"We are F1 drivers. We should not look like kids and clowns trying to ram into each other. That's not what F1 needs."

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

For all its clowns and pratfalls, it’s quietly one of television’s great food shows.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

When it comes to variety shows, drag brunches and clowns, our town is top tier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

Balloons, face paint, clowns, barbecue, games, and music.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson

“Strangers clowned us,” former Ambassadors player Victoria Henson told me the other day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

His song Thick Of It, which features Trippie Redd, was nominated for song of the year - despite being something he was "clowned for".

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025

Morale seemed high among Granite’s troops this week, as a short-range team clowned around despite being on duty long into the early morning hours as Kyiv’s air defenses took down 35 explosive Iranian-made Shahed drones.

From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2023

Watching the way people dressed, absorbing the way people joked, got clowned, handled being the centerpiece of a roast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2022

A year ago, me and Sneaky would’ve clowned him about it.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

We spoke with several students who credit clowning with improving their lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Yale drama professor Christopher Bayes has a word of warning for those expecting his clowning classes to function as a form of treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

An audience expecting acrobatic basketball stunts and on-court clowning set to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the Globetrotters’ signature song, was instead treated to a real, close-fought exhibition.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Expect games, clowning and catharsis that transform helplessness into empowerment and isolation into belonging.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

As the jury members straggled in, they were not clowning around or tap-dancing on the stage as jurors usually did.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• buffoon
• comedian
• comic
• fool
• jester
• mime
• prankster