cirque
Americannoun
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circle; ring.
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a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation, often containing a small, round lake.
noun
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Also called: corrie. cwm. a semicircular or crescent-shaped basin with steep sides and a gently sloping floor formed in mountainous regions by the erosive action of a glacier
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archaeol an obsolete term for circle
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poetic a circle, circlet, or ring
Etymology
Origin of cirque
1595–1605; < French < Latin circus; see circus
Explanation
A cirque is a bowl-shaped indentation carved into the side or top of a mountain by a glacier. In warmer conditions, cirques gradually fill with water to form small, deep lakes called tarns. A cirque can also be called a corrie. North America has several of these steep-sided natural basins, including the Iceberg Cirque in Glacier National Park and Cirque of the Towers in Wyoming. The rounded shape of a cirque is often described as resembling an amphitheater or an armchair, with one lower edge. Cirques are carved out of the top or side of a mountain by glacial ice, which slowly moves, carving away the bedrock. Cirque means "circle" in French.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You won’t find any Cirque du Soleil shows on the all-inclusive menu.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Several kilometres away in the Cirque d'Hiver -- an indoor arena theatre -- Gregoire urged his fans to "resist".
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
Later that day, I met a man named Mike, who has scratched out a living selling Cirque du Soleil tickets from a modest wooden stall underneath the colossal shadow of the Strip casinos.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025
As part of this workout, she throws in a challenge that involves executing choreography with members of Cirque de Soleil.
From Salon • Aug. 24, 2025
I would dearly love to read the reactions, the observations of each and every person who walks through the gates of Le Cirque des Rêves, to know what they see and hear and feel.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
