Whiteface
noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Makeup that makes the face appear white. uncountable
"Whiteface is sometimes worn by clowns and mimes, or in the Gothic subculture."
- 2 hardy English breed of cattle raised extensively in United States wordnet
- 3 Any bird of the genus Aphelocephala. countable
- 4 a clown whose face is covered with white make-up wordnet
- 5 A Hereford cow. countable, uncountable
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- 6 Any dragonfly of the genus Leucorrhinia. countable
- 7 A person of European descent. (See usage notes.) countable, slang
"Craig has gotten himself entree into a dangerous Chinatown card game, where he is playing the role of the malleable whiteface, the unlucky Irishman known as Mickey in order to infiltrate the drug-dealing operations of Asian gang members."
- 8 A traditional clown who ranks above the auguste. countable
Example
More examples"Whiteface is sometimes worn by clowns and mimes, or in the Gothic subculture."
Etymology
From white + face.
More for "whiteface"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.