menagerie

[ muh-naj-uh-ree, -nazh- ]

noun

1. a collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition.
2. a place where they are kept or exhibited.
3. an unusual and varied group of people.

menagerie

/ mɪˈnædʒərɪ /

noun

1. a collection of wild animals kept for exhibition
2. the place where such animals are housed

Word History and Origins

Origin of menagerie¹

1705–15; < French: literally, housekeeping. See ménage, -ery

Word History and Origins

Origin of menagerie¹

C18: from French: household management, which formerly included care of domestic animals. See ménage

Example Sentences

Hannah Twynnoy was living in Malmesbury in the 18th Century when the animal, thought to have been part of a travelling menagerie housed in a pub yard, escaped and attacked her.

From BBC

A herd of Irish Dexter cows, a passel of New Zealand Kunekune pigs, Babydoll Southdown sheep and assorted feathered fowl are just part of the menagerie living among fruit trees, vegetable gardens and lush native plants along a swale to capture rainwater.

From Los Angeles Times

As ash rained down, Keene and his wife packed up their three young daughters, their infant son and their family’s most prized possessions — a menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, birds, tortoises and pigs, 46 animals in all — and raced out of their neighborhood down Ortega Highway as 100-foot-tall flames encroached.

From Los Angeles Times

He listed his home and his menagerie for sale last year, so he could join his partner in New Zealand.

From BBC

Rori, also three, had been kept as part of a private menagerie which was disbanded after the Russian invasion, and may have been used for illegal breeding.

From BBC