slapstick
noun
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The idea that knocking people about made for good comedy dates as far back as the Greco-Roman theater, where clowns rambunctiously "attacked" one another onstage. The object from which the word slapstick derives, however, was invented in Italy in the 16th century. Renaissance comedy typically featured stock characters placed in ridiculous situations, and one such ubiquitous character was Harlequin, whose brilliant costuming made him easily recognizable. Harlequin was given to wielding a paddle which was designed to make a terrible noise when he hit someone, usually to the delight of the audience. This paddle was eventually known in English as a "slapstick," and it became a symbol of that type of highly physical comedy. The word slapstick then came to refer to the comedy itself.
Examples of slapstick in a Sentence
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The Three Stooges, who made the seltzer bottle a signature of their madcap slapstick brand of comedy, grew up in a Jewish household.
—Liza Weisstuch, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2025
The movie is quite true to its world - a world full of slapstick comedy, unfunny jokes, and vulgar and suggestive dialogues.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The slapstick comedy had been sitting in the Nickelodeon/Paramount vault for nearly a decade.
—Kevin Giraud, Variety, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slapstick
Cite this Entry
“Slapstick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slapstick. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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