1
: farmer, countryman
2
: a rude ill-bred person : boor
3
a
: a fool, jester, or comedian in an entertainment (such as a play)
specifically
: a grotesquely dressed comedy performer in a circus
b
: a person who habitually jokes and plays the buffoon
c
clowned; clowning; clowns
: to act as or like a clown
always clowning around
Examples of clown in a Sentence
Noun
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
Verb
as a youngster he was always clowning around in the classroom
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 28 June 2025
Ayanna Pressley, another blow-in-drifter (from Chicago), pole vaulted from the City Council clown show to the U.S. House.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 25 June 2025
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Williams has previously clowned Perry for wearing dresses in his movies, so these real-life accusations could find their way into his next stand-up set.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clown
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Noun
Also, this was not a good week for billionaires as a socialist Muslim won a long-shot victory in the NYC Democratic primary, partly on the promise to raise taxes among the highest income earners, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos starred in a clown show wedding in Venice.
—Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 28 June 2025
Ayanna Pressley, another blow-in-drifter (from Chicago), pole vaulted from the City Council clown show to the U.S. House.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 25 June 2025
Verb
All of a sudden, now everybody's clowning around and no work is getting done.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Williams has previously clowned Perry for wearing dresses in his movies, so these real-life accusations could find their way into his next stand-up set.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clown
Cite this Entry
“Clown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clown. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clown
1 of 2 noun1
: a rude and often stupid person
2
: a performer (as in a play or circus) who usually wears funny clothes and makeup and tries to make people laugh
clownish
adjective
ˈklau̇-nish
clownishly
adverb
clownishness
noun
clown
2 of 2 verb
: to act like a clown
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