toon

1 of 2

noun (1)

variants or 'toon
plural toons or 'toons
: cartoon: such as
a
: comic strip
… launched the 'toon in 1930, with Dagwood as a lazy rich playboy and flapper Blondie as one of his many girlfriends.Mike Peters
b
: animated cartoon
… its most recent live-action adaptation of one of its classic toons, earned a tidy $69 million in its first weekend in theaters, good enough for first place.Mike Scott
also : a character in an animated cartoon
… it's surprisingly easy for the reader too to accept Gary Wolf's wacky universe, where humans interact with 'toons. The New York Times
… witty new catchphrases for the endearingly wiseass little toon Bart Simpson … Entertainment Weekly

toon

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a southeast Asian and Australian tree (Toona ciliata synonym Cedrela toona) of the mahogany family with aromatic dark red to reddish-brown wood
also : its wood

Examples of toon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The syndication rights for the toons were weird since the beginning of television. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025 Judge introduced his iconic slacker duo way back in 1993, debuting on MTV’s toon mashup Liquid Television. Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 24 July 2025 So the toon’s cheeky plot goes something like this: Early on, Bull feels superior to all the neutered animals at the dog park because he’s still got his gonads. Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 June 2025 Dark Toons Wednesday, July 30th @ Brooklyn Commons | Free with RSVP A gateway to mind-bending dreams, these strange, sinister, and spellbinding toons will surely transfix you. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening

Noun (2)

Hindi & Urdu tūn, from Sanskrit tunna

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1932, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of toon was in 1810

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Toon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toon. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.

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