Definition of clown
1 : farmer, countryman
2 : a rude ill-bred person : boor
3a : a fool, jester, or comedian in an entertainment (such as a play); specifically : a grotesquely dressed comedy performer in a circusb : a person who habitually jokes and plays the buffoonc : joker 1b
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Examples of clown in a Sentence
Those big shoes make you look like a clown!
Who's the clown standing in the middle of the road?
those clowns at the state capital
Recent Examples of clown from the Web
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Arnold (Francis Guinan), Isaac’s 58-year-old father, is caked in makeup and wearing a dress, topped with a clown’s wig.
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The gates open at 4 p.m. with family-friendly clowns, games and local food and drinks.
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By either clicking on the cube or staring at it long enough, people can trigger the cube to generate a small screen above that shows a video ad, sort of like a small clown might burst out of a jack-in-the-box toy.
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There will be an assortment of parade entries, including five high school bands (RB, Poway, Del Norte, Mt. Carmel and Westview), scout troops, clowns, jugglers, horses, pageant queens and dignitaries.
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Eddie Griffin 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, June 30, and 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, July 1, at Kansas City Improv Born and raised in Kansas City, Eddie Griffin was voted class clown three times while attending Lincoln High School.
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Similarly, Brie's wide-eyed, open-hearted characters are both overachievers and underdogs, clown ladies proffering their best balloon animals to a sometimes-uncaring world.
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For a while in her 20s, Brie focused on animals of the balloon variety, working as a party clown while hoofing it on the audition circuit until her 2006 breakthrough on an episode of Hannah Montana.
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Jones is just an evil rodeo clown whose fifteen minutes will soon be up.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clown.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of clown
probably of Low German origin; akin to Frisian klönne clumsy fellow, Old English clyne lump of metal
clown
Definition of clown
intransitive verb
: to act as or like a clown always clowning around
Recent Examples of clown from the Web
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But Pence and the White House communications staff weren’t the only ones who took the Rosenstein letter at face value, and thus got clowned by Trump.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clown.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of clown
1599
CLOWN Defined for English Language Learners
clown
playDefinition of clown for English Language Learners
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: someone who performs in a circus, who wears funny clothes and makeup, and who tries to make people laugh
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: someone who often does funny things to make people laugh
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: a rude or stupid person
clown
Definition of clown for English Language Learners
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: to act like a clown : to say funny things or act in a silly way
CLOWN Defined for Kids
Definition of clown for Students
1 : a performer (as in a circus) who entertains by playing tricks and who usually wears comical clothes and makeup
2 : someone who does things to make people laugh
Definition of clown for Students
clowned
;clowning
: to act in a funny or silly way : act like a clown
Learn More about clown
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See words that rhyme with clown Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for clown Spanish Central: Translation of clown Nglish: Translation of clown for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of clown for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about clown
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