Meaning & use
clown
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Meanings
nouncountable
An entertainer in bright clothes and face paint who tells jokes, does tricks and acts silly.
Grammar: Countable: a clown, many clowns.
Patterns
- a clown at something
A clown made balloon animals at the birthday party.
The circus clown wore enormous shoes.
She trained for years to become a clown.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who behaves foolishly or whom others find unreliable.
Grammar: Countable; an insult when used about someone seriously.
Patterns
- a clown who does something
Some clown parked across two spaces again.
He is a class clown who always interrupts.
Stop acting like a clown and listen.
verbintransitiveinformal
To play the fool, usually to make others laugh or get attention.
Grammar: No object; often with around: stop clowning around.
Patterns
- clown around
- clown about
The boys were clowning around in the hall.
Stop clowning and finish your homework.
He clowned for the camera.
Word forms
| plural | clowns |
|---|---|
| third person singular | clowns |
| past tense | clowned |
| -ing form | clowning |
Common combinations
- circus clown
- The circus clown juggled.
- class clown
- The class clown made us laugh.
- clown around
- Stop clowning around.
- clown makeup
- Clown makeup took an hour.
- birthday clown
- A birthday clown arrived.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jester
- A jester was a court entertainer in medieval times, so it feels historical.
- buffoon
- Buffoon is stronger and means a ridiculous, foolish person.
- joker
- A joker is someone who tells jokes or does not take things seriously, not a costumed entertainer.
- fool
- Fool is a general insult for stupidity, while clown suggests silly behavior.
Word family
- clownish adjective
- silly like a clown
- clownishly adverb
- in a silly way
- clowning noun
- silly behavior
- clownery noun
- clownish behavior or tricks
Commonly confused: clown or mime?
clown vs mime
A mime performs silently with gestures, while a clown uses costume, noise and comedy.
Practice
Which sentence uses clown as a verb?
Choose one answer.
Clowning around is a verb meaning to behave foolishly. In the others clown is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.