Definition of "cartoon" in English

noun

1. (comics) A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.

2. (comics) A drawing satirising current public figures.

   • The newspaper published a political cartoon mocking the mayor.

3. (art) An artist's preliminary sketch.

4. (art) A full-sized drawing that serves as the template for a fresco, a tapestry, etc.

5. (animation) An animated piece of film which is often but not exclusively humorous.

   • The children watched a funny cartoon on TV.

6. (animation) 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.

verb

1. (art, comics, animation) To draw a cartoon, a humorous drawing.

2. (art) To make a preliminary sketch.