clown

1 of 2

noun

ˈklau̇n 

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 usually colorfully costumed comedy performer in a circus

b

: a person who habitually jokes and plays the buffoon

c

: joker sense 1b

clown

2 of 2

verb

clowned; clowning; clowns

intransitive verb

: to act as or like a clown

always clowning around

Synonyms of clown

Noun

• harlequin
• buffoon
• comedian

Verb

• horse around
• monkey (around)
• fool around
• cut up
• show off

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

Noun

My dad was a firefighter, so his whole gimmick was to dress as a clown to teach kids fire safety. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026

Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise, Derry's resident killer clown, shapeshifter, and hallucination-manifesting cosmic monster. — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 2026

Verb

Eventually a local newspaper wrote a piece about me and my dad, the father/son clown duo. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026

In the second episode, Tom spends a night in the local inn, and ends up in a crawl space with the ghost of a psychotic killer clown. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably of Low German origin; akin to Frisian klönne clumsy fellow, Old English clyne lump of metal

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1590, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing clown

• clown fish
• play the clown
• the class clown

Rhymes for clown

• bown
• crown
• drown
• frown
• gown
• lown
• noun
• town
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown

Kids Definition

clown

1 of 2 noun

ˈklau̇n 

1

: 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

ˈklau̇-nish

adjective

clownishly adverb

clownishness noun

clown

2 of 2 verb

: to act like a clown