What does cornball mean?
Cornball is an informal English word with two closely related uses. As a noun, it names a person who trades in stale jokes, obvious puns, and unembarrassed sentimentality — the uncle who repeats the same groan-worthy punchline at every holiday dinner. It also works adjectivally, especially in American usage, to describe humor, movies, or music that is hackneyed, overly earnest, or old-fashioned in a slightly cringe-inducing way: a film might be dismissed as pure cornball. The word derives from "corn," which by the early twentieth century had come to mean anything trite or clichéd in American slang, possibly influenced by the rural, folksy humor found in seed-catalog novelty jokes. Though technically disparaging, cornball often carries genuine affection; calling someone one is usually teasing among friends rather than a serious insult. It remains common in casual conversation and pop-culture criticism, sitting comfortably alongside cousins like "corny" and "hokey."
A person who tells corny jokes or behaves in an unapologetically sentimental, old-fashioned manner.
"My grandfather is a total cornball — he proposed to Grandma with a fortune cookie."
Mildly derisive but often affectionate; used informally.
Trite, hackneyed, or mawkishly sentimental, as in humor or entertainment.
"He loves those cornball holiday movies where everyone learns the true meaning of Christmas."
Chiefly American informal use, derived from the noun.
Standard plural applies to the noun sense referring to people or things.
"The comedy troupe was full of cornballs, each with a worse pun than the last."
"Cornball" owes its meaning to the early-1900s American joke trade, where "corn" meant anything so stale it belonged in a mail-order gag catalog — and the people who traded in it got a name of their own.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cornball
Cornball is an American formation combining "corn" — which by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had acquired the slang sense of trite, hackneyed, or unsophisticated, likely from the folksy humor printed in seed-company mailers — and "ball," a common suffix for forming person-describing nouns. It emerged in early twentieth-century American English alongside its cousin "corny." The underlying word "corn" descends from Old English "corn," cognate with German "Korn," originally meaning any small grain. Related formations sharing the grain root include "kernel" and "peppercorn."
Usage notes
Informal and almost always mildly derogatory but affectionate when applied to a person — calling someone a cornball teases rather than insults. The adjectival use describing humor or entertainment is chiefly American. Avoid in formal writing.
Don't confuse with
"Corny" is an adjective describing something trite or mawkishly sentimental, while "cornball" is a compound word most often used as a noun for a person given to such humor, though it can also serve adjectivally.