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 of comedian

• comic
• entertainer
• joker
• humorist
• wit
• funnyman
• clown

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

Dennis and Rosa encounter all sorts of people, from feuding Take That tribute bands to Irish bachelorettes, comedians and bingo enthusiasts. — Marta Balaga, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026

The uproar came this week when the advocacy group Stand Up for Standup and big-name comedians like Patton Oswalt, Margaret Cho and Michelle Wolf took to social media to ask Maniscalco to bring Raw Comedy back to the platform. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

On October 7, after dozens of comedians posted videos about this crisis to social media, including big names like Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, and Sam Morril, Maniscalco finally issued a response. — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026

Its 2,500-plus episodes have featured two- to three-hour interviews with a range of actors, comedians, athletes, politicians, authors and more. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for comedian

• paramedian
• submedian

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