plural cartoons
1
: a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)
2
a
: a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor
a political cartoon
a cartoon drawing
b
: a group of drawings in narrative sequence : comic strip
3
: a video (such as a television show or movie) that is made from a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of inanimate objects (such as puppets) and that simulates movement by slight progressive changes in each frame : animated cartoon
4
: a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional portrayal or version
The film's villain is an entertaining cartoon.
cartoon
verb
cartoonishly
adverb
Examples of cartoon in a Sentence
She enjoys reading the cartoons in the Sunday paper.
The kids are watching cartoons.
Recent Examples on the Web
The title, first created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the early 1960s, has been the most popular Marvel comic book title since the 1980s and then a popular cartoon in the 1990s.
—
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2025
Kim has on the type of hat that a bank robber wears in Sunday morning cartoons, while Kylie looks like the kind of girl a robber like Kim might steal that money for.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Spike Lee, on the other hand, has joined protests against the paper’s racist cartoons and refused to talk to reporters affiliated with the outfit.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
At the nearest bus stop, passengers wait in front of that façade, and the scrawls seem to spring from their minds like cartoon speech that has burst free of its bubbles.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cartoon
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.
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2025
Kim has on the type of hat that a bank robber wears in Sunday morning cartoons, while Kylie looks like the kind of girl a robber like Kim might steal that money for.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Spike Lee, on the other hand, has joined protests against the paper’s racist cartoons and refused to talk to reporters affiliated with the outfit.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
At the nearest bus stop, passengers wait in front of that façade, and the scrawls seem to spring from their minds like cartoon speech that has burst free of its bubbles.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cartoon
Cite this Entry
“Cartoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartoon. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cartoon
noun
car·toon
kär-ˈtün 
1
: a design, drawing, or painting made as a model for the finished work
2
a
: a drawing intended as a humorous comment on public affairs
b
3
Etymology
from Italian cartone "pasteboard, a sketch of a planned drawing or painting done on heavy paper," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to card entry 3, carton
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share