cartoon
/kɑɹˈtun/noun, verb
cartoon is spelled C-A-R-T-O-O-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cartoon means “A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cartoon is cartoons.
How many letters and syllables are in cartoon?
| Letters | 7: C-A-R-T-O-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cartoon?
Cartoon appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cartoon?
- UK /kɑːˈtuːn/
- US /kɑɹˈtun/
Cartoon has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cartoon.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cartoon?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cartoon from its last stressed vowel (/un/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cartoon
- cartoons plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cartooning participle, present
- cartooned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cartoon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.
- 2
A drawing satirising current public figures.
The newspaper published a political cartoon mocking the mayor.
- 3
An artist's preliminary sketch.
- 4
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 th
- 7
A diagram in a scientific concept.
verb
- 1
To draw a cartoon, a humorous drawing.
- 2
To make a preliminary sketch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cartoon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bande dessinée, BD, caricature , croquis |
| German | Karikatur, Cartoon |
| Portuguese | cartum, charge , desenho, croquis , caricatura |
| Spanish | viñeta , caricatura |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cartoon come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).