cirque
circle; ring.
a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation, often containing a small, round lake.
Origin of cirque
1Words Nearby cirque
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cirque in a sentence
Situated along the main scenic drive in Great Basin National Park, this viewpoint gazes out at a craggy alpine cirque, ancient bristlecone forests, and, of course, the summit proper.
Craning his neck, Gow noticed the creek flowed out of a high whitewashed cirque with enormous skiing possibility.
How One Man Survived a Plane Crash and 5 Days in the Snowy Canadian Wilderness—and Went On to Help Shape the Modern Ski Industry | Cassidy Randall | December 27, 2020 | TimeBut no matter where her career has taken her, or how big the cirque has become, Vial keeps coming back.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil | Allison McNearney | December 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTwenty-eight years ago, Veronique Vial was asked to photograph cirque du Soleil.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil | Allison McNearney | December 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil | Allison McNearney | December 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The pride and admiration Vial has for the artists who put on cirque du Soleil is evident.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil | Allison McNearney | December 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTcirque du Soleil obviously sprang to startling success with a variety of shows since its 1987 founding.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus | Anthony Paletta | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMost of its mass is derived directly from the low hanging snow clouds, or is blown into the cirque by eddying winds.
Mount Rainier | VariousWhat especially distinguishes the Puyallup Glacier from its neighbors to the north is the great elevation of its cirque.
Mount Rainier | VariousThe cirque is small and shallow, not as capacious even as either of the twin recesses in the Carbon Glacier's amphitheater.
Mount Rainier | VariousA huge cirque extending up toward Liberty Cap on the western side of the mountain.
Mount Rainier | VariousI will give you my opinion,” he uttered, “after I have investigated matters in the Rue du cirque.
Other People's Money | Emile Gaboriau
British Dictionary definitions for cirque
/ (sɜːk) /
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
archaeol an obsolete term for circle (def. 11)
poetic a circle, circlet, or ring
Origin of cirque
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for cirque
[ sûrk ]
A steep, amphitheatre-shaped hollow occurring at the upper end of a mountain valley, especially one forming the head of a glacier or stream. Cirques are formed by the erosive activity of glaciers and often contain a small lake.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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