clown

[kloun]

noun

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.

verb (used without object)

1. to act like a clown.

clown

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of clown¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of clown¹

C16: perhaps of Low German origin; compare Frisian klönne, Icelandic klunni clumsy fellow

Example Sentences

Her foam-lined sneakers slide off to reveal black knitted socks adorned with illustrations of killer clowns.

Read more on Literature

“To the Incorrigible children, these exotic beasts must have been as strange and comical looking as a person in a clown costume would be to the average child.”

Read more on Literature

Gainer credits his junior-high-school guidance counselor for urging him to apply to Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design, after she saw his portfolio, which included paintings of automobiles and clowns.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Apart from the clown, there’s a whole mythology that has yet to be connected.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Last year, for instance, was a “hell hotel,” with rooms themed to demented clowns or terror at sea.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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