What does clown mean?
Definitions for clown
klaʊnclown
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word clown.
Princeton's WordNet
clown, buffoonnoun
a rude or vulgar fool
clown, buffoon, goof, goofball, merry andrewverb
a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
clown, clown around, anticverb
act as or like a clown
Wiktionary
clownnoun
A performance artist often associated with a circus and typically characterised by bright, oversized clothing, a red nose, face paint, and a brightly colored wig and who performs slapstick.
clownnoun
A person who acts in a silly fashion.
clownverb
To act in a silly fashion.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
CLOWNnoun
Etymology: imagined by Stephen Skinner and Franciscus Junius to be contracted from colonus. It seems rather a Saxon word, corrupted from lown; loen, Dut. a word nearly of the same import.
He came out with all his clowns, horst upon cart-jades. Philip Sidney, b. ii.
The clowns, a boist’rous, rude, ungovern’d crew,
With furious haste to the loud summons flew. John Dryden, Æn.In youth a coxcomb, and in age a clown. Spectator.
A country squire, represented with no other vice but that of being a clown, and having the provincial accent. Jonathan Swift.
Wikipedia
Clown
A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms.
ChatGPT
clown
A clown is a performer, typically dressed in colorful and often exaggerated clothing, who uses physical comedy, clownish behavior, and slapstick humor to entertain an audience. Clowns often engage in silly and playful antics, often accompanied by jokes, tricks, and visual gags, to evoke laughter and amusement. They may also incorporate other elements such as juggling, balloon twisting, and face painting into their act.
Webster Dictionary
Clownnoun
a man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an ill-bred person; a boor
Clownnoun
one who works upon the soil; a rustic; a churl
Clownnoun
the fool or buffoon in a play, circus, etc
Clownverb
to act as a clown; -- with it
Etymology: [Cf. Icel. klunni a clumsy, boorish fellow, North Fries. klnne clown, dial. Sw. klunn log, Dan. klunt log, block, and E. clump, n.]
Wikidata
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the bizarre image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less bizarre styles have also developed, including theatre, television, and film clowns. Peter Berger writes that "It seems plausible that folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society". For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as a physical performance discipline, partly because tricky subject matter can be dealt with, but also because it requires a high level of risk and play in the performer. The humour in clowning comes from the self-deprecating actions of the performer, rather than the audience laughing with the performer as is common with other forms of comedy. The term coulrophobia has been coined to describe those individuals who report a fear of clowns.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Clown
klown, n. a rustic or country-fellow: one with the rough manners of a countryman: an ill-bred fellow: a fool or buffoon.—ns. Clown′ery, a clown's performance; Clown′ing, acting the clown.—adj. Clown′ish, of or like a clown: coarse and awkward: rustic.—adv. Clown′ishly.—ns. Clown′ishness; Clown′ship. [Prob. conn. with Clod, and Clot.]
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
CLOWN
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Clown is ranked #153769 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Clown surname appeared 106 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Clown.
91.5% or 97 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
5.6% or 6 total occurrences were White.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of clown in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of clown in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of clown in a Sentence
I don’t blame the clown, what I was upset about was the way I was carried off. I was manhandled when I could have been seriously injured.
I think everybody except for Trump is a complete clown.
I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.
It kind of reminds me of the funniest moment, I think, of the second debate, where out of nowhere, complete non sequitur, he starts going after me. And I guess it's part of his bravado, his shtick, i'm thinking, how did we get the race for the most important office in the free world to sink to such depths, and how could anyone in my party think that this clown is fit to be president?
You know, you only have five weeks, Mr. President, after an election to make legal challenges, this would have taken a crackerjack team with a really coherent and disciplined strategy. Instead, you have a clown show. No self-respecting lawyer is going anywhere near it. It's just a joke. That's why you are where you are.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for clown
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- nar, paljas, harlekynAfrikaans
- مهرجArabic
- oyunbazAzerbaijani
- клоўнBelarusian
- клоун, палячо, шутBulgarian
- pallassoCatalan, Valencian
- klaunCzech
- klovnDanish
- Trottel, ClownGerman
- κλόουν, γελωτοποιός, τζουτζές, καραγκιόζης, παλιάτσοςGreek
- klaŭnoEsperanto
- payasa, payasoSpanish
- دلقکPersian
- klovni, pelleFinnish
- klovnur, íspegilFaroese
- bouffon, clownFrench
- pallasoGalician
- ליצן, ליצניתHebrew
- bohócHungarian
- ծաղրածուArmenian
- badutIndonesian
- klaunoIdo
- buffone, pagliaccioItalian
- ピエロ, 道化, 道化師Japanese
- 피에로, 어릿광대, 광대Korean
- CorydonLatin
- klaunsLatvian
- кловн, палјачоMacedonian
- കോമാളിMalayalam
- जोकरMarathi
- badutMalay
- clownDutch
- klovnNorwegian
- pajac, klaun, klownPolish
- palhaçoPortuguese
- bufon, neghiob, clovn, paiață, claun, cretin, imbecilRomanian
- шут, клоун, паяцRussian
- klovn, клаун, кловн, klaunSerbo-Croatian
- klaunSlovak
- klovn, klovnesaSlovene
- kllounAlbanian
- clown, pajasSwedish
- mcheshiSwahili
- கோமாளிTamil
- payasoTagalog
- palyaçoTurkish
- клоунUkrainian
- פּאַיאַץYiddish
- 小丑Chinese
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"clown." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 6 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/clown>.
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