noun ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A style of humor focusing on physical comedy, such as slipping on a banana peel, and with foolish characters who get into humiliating situations. uncountable
2. 2
   acoustic device consisting of two paddles hinged together; used by an actor to make a loud noise without inflicting injury when striking someone wordnet
3. 3
   A pair of sticks attached at one end and used to create a slapping sound effect, used especially in slapstick comedy; a type of clapper. countable
4. 4
   a boisterous comedy with chases and collisions and practical jokes wordnet

Adjective

1. 1
   characterized by horseplay and physical action wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

actingagile witarlequinadeatticismblack comedyblack humor

Example

More examples

"Slapstick comedy is the lowest form of humor."

Etymology

From slap + stick, calque of Italian batacchio. The pair of sticks was used by the comic character Harlequin in the commedia dell'arte.

Related phrases

sound effect

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.