comedian

American  

[kuh-mee-dee-uhn] / kəˈmi di ən /

noun

• comedians
  plural

1. a professional entertainer who amuses by relating anecdotes, acting out comical situations, engaging in humorous repartee, etc.

2. an actor in comedy.

3. a writer of comedy.

4. any comical or amusing person.

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comedian British  

/ kəˈmiːdɪən /

noun

1. an entertainer who specializes in jokes, comic skits, etc

2. an actor in comedy

3. an amusing or entertaining person: sometimes used ironically

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• comedians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of comedian

1575–85; < Middle French comediain; see comedy, -ian

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Explanation

A comedian tells jokes for a living. If you have the ability to crack everyone up at the dinner table, your mom might say that you should be a comedian. Comedians perform in various ways: a stand-up comedian, for example, tells jokes on a stage at a comedy club. Other comedians might perform improvisational comedy routines in a group, or be featured in a funny movie. In the 16th century, a comedian was specifically a "comic poet," while later the words comedian and actor were briefly interchangeable. It comes from the Greek komoidia, "an amusing spectacle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comedian comedians

They were then whittled down to two winners - with the faithful duo of comedian Romesh Ranganathan and Heartstopper actor Sebastian "Bash" Croft emerging victorious.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Celebrity Traitors star and comedian Joe Lycett has paid colourful tribute to the Welsh grandmother who went viral on TikTok after getting caught in shop shutters and being hoisted into the air.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

I’m a terrible actress, and a terrible comedian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

The three-hour documentary, co-directed by comedian Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, follows Holmes and her family at home in 2023 during the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Now he’s making his living being funny as a nationally known stage and nightclub comedian.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Most comedians are — how do I put this gently — known to be some level of unwell.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

She added that Freddy Quinne, as well as a number of other comedians who were part of the podcast episode, had since apologised to her.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

A comedian shares his serious side: Murray Hill is an old-school entertainer in the mold of retro lounge singers and Borscht Belt comedians.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

“And then from a second standpoint, we saw comedians saying, ‘Hey, we need more hours of distribution, and we don’t want to be told what we can and can’t say in our specials.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

The crowd clapped along with the singers, laughed at the comedians, and sang folk songs and songs of the movement.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

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Related Words

• actor
• clown
• comic
• entertainer
• humorist

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