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cartoon

noun, verb — 9 senses

cartoon

noun

UK /kɑːˈtuːn/ · US /kɑɹˈtun/

Etymology In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for further etymology). Doublet of carton and card.

7 senses
  1. 1A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of…
  2. 2A drawing satirising current public figures.
  3. 3An artist's preliminary sketch.
  4. 4A full-sized drawing that serves as the template for a…
  5. 5An animated piece of film which is often but not…
  6. 6A cartoon series.
  7. 7A diagram in a scientific concept.
1

Comics, Literature, Media, Publishing A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.

2

Comics, Literature, Media, Publishing A drawing satirising current public figures.

  • The newspaper published a political cartoon mocking the mayor.
3

Art, Arts An artist's preliminary sketch.

4

Art, Arts A full-sized drawing that serves as the template for a fresco, a tapestry, etc.

5

An animated piece of film which is often but not exclusively humorous.

  • The children watched a funny cartoon on TV.
6

A cartoon series.

  • 12 July 2012, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.
7

A diagram in a scientific concept.

Synonyms
comic strip, strip cartoon, caricature, political cartoon, animated cartoon, animation
Derived terms
animated cartoon, cartoon character, cartooner, cartoonery, cartoonesque, cartooney, cartoonish, cartoonist, cartoonistic, cartoonlike, cartoon physics, cartoony, editorial cartoon, pocket cartoon, political cartoon, Saturday-morning cartoon, spokestoon, strip cartoon
Related terms
cartoonist, comic book, funnies, funny pages, funny papers, strip cartoon

cartoon

verb

Etymology In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for further etymology). Doublet of carton and card.

1

Art, Arts, Comics, Literature, Media, Publishing To draw a cartoon, a humorous drawing.

2

Art, Arts To make a preliminary sketch.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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