comedian

noun

co·​me·​di·​an kə-ˈmē-dē-ən 

1

archaic

a

: a writer of comedies

b

: an actor who plays comic roles

2

: a comical individual

specifically : a professional entertainer who uses any of various physical or verbal means to be amusing

Synonyms

• card
• comic
• droll
• farceur
• funnyman
• gagger
• gagman
• gagster
• humorist
• jester
• joker
• jokester
• wag
• wit

Examples of comedian in a Sentence

You'll like my friend. He's a real comedian.

struggled to eke out a living as a comedian in nightclubs

Recent Examples on the Web

Ellen DeGeneres Looks Back on Her Many Memories with Stephen 'tWitch' Boss 1 Year After His Death: 'Miss Him So Much' In September, the comedian remembered tWitch on his would-be 42nd birthday. —Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024

The 42-year-old comedian appeared on the Wednesday, December 11, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and shared insight into life with his and Olivia Munn's two kids: son Malcolm, 3, and daughter Meimei, 3 months. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

The comedian shifted his focus away from Katt and then examined the Black community at large. —Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 12 Dec. 2024

The comedian Bill Burr compared C.E.O.s like Thompson to gangsters. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

comedian

noun

co·​me·​di·​an kə-ˈmēd-ē-ən 

1

: an actor who plays in comedy

2

: a comical individual

especially : a humorous professional entertainer