circus

[ sur-kuhs ]

noun

, plural cir·cus·es.

1. a large public entertainment, typically presented in one or more very large tents or in an outdoor or indoor arena, featuring exhibitions of pageantry, feats of skill and daring, performing animals, etc., interspersed throughout with the slapstick antics of clowns. Compare big top.
2. a troupe of performers, especially a traveling troupe, that presents such entertainments, together with officials, other employees, and the company's performing animals, traveling wagons, tents, cages, and equipment.
3. anything resembling such public entertainments, as an event or activity that is wildly active, disordered, sensational, etc.:

   That whole trial was a circus.

4. a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats, in which public entertainments are held; arena.
5. (in ancient Rome)
   1. a large, usually oblong or oval, roofless enclosure, surrounded by tiers of seats rising one above another, for chariot races, public games, etc.
   2. an entertainment given in this Roman arena, as a chariot race or public game:

      The Caesars appeased the public with bread and circuses.

6. anything resembling the Roman circus, or arena, as a natural amphitheater or a circular range of houses.
7. flying circus.
8. British. an open circle, square, or plaza where several streets converge:

   Piccadilly Circus.

9. Obsolete. a circlet or ring.

circus

/ ˈsɜːkəs /

noun

1. a travelling company of entertainers such as acrobats, clowns, trapeze artistes, and trained animals
2. a public performance given by such a company
3. an oval or circular arena, usually tented and surrounded by tiers of seats, in which such a performance is held
4. a travelling group of professional sportsmen

   a cricket circus

5. in ancient Rome
   1. an open-air stadium, usually oval or oblong, for chariot races or public games
   2. the games themselves
6. 1. an open place, usually circular, in a town, where several streets converge
   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      Piccadilly Circus

7. informal.
   noisy or rowdy behaviour
8. informal.
   a person or group of people whose behaviour is wild, disorganized, or (esp unintentionally) comic

Other Words From

• cir·cus·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of circus¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin: “circular region of the sky, oval space in which games were held,” akin to (or borrowed from) Greek kírkos “ring, circle”

Word History and Origins

Origin of circus¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek kirkos ring

Idioms and Phrases

see three-ring circus .

Example Sentences

And no more rescuing Speaker Mike Johnson from the wrath of the “Freedom Caucus”; let them turn the House back into a circus if they’re so moved.

From Salon

Taylor-Serrano was the pinnacle of the sport, as good as it gets, but we were soon dragged into the circus that appears now engrained in modern boxing.

From BBC

He did not attend his son's memorial because “I don’t want it to turn into a circus,” he said.

From Salon

But it took an entire century for the inspiration of the Wizard himself to be identified – Washington Harrison Donaldson, balloonist and colleague of famed circus master P.T.

From Salon

In her view, the circus around who Satoshi Nakamoto is distracts from people looking into - and getting to grips with - the more serious question of how cryptocurrencies might upend the way the economy works.

From BBC

Related Words

• festival
• spectacle