pageant
Americannoun
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an elaborate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, institution, or the like, often given in dramatic form or as a procession of colorful floats.
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a costumed procession, masque, allegorical tableau, or the like forming part of public or social festivities.
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a show or exhibition, especially one consisting of a succession of participants or events.
a beauty pageant.
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something comparable to a procession in colorful variety, splendor, or grandeur.
the pageant of Renaissance history.
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a pretentious display or show that conceals a lack of real importance or meaning.
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(in medieval times) a platform or stage, usually moving on wheels, on which scenes from mystery plays were presented.
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display or pageantry.
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Obsolete. a stage bearing any kind of spectacle.
noun
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an elaborate colourful parade or display portraying scenes from history, esp one involving rich costume
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any magnificent or showy display, procession, etc
Other Word Forms
- pageanteer noun
- pageantic adjective
Etymology
Origin of pageant
1350–1400; Middle English pagyn, pagaunt, pagand < Anglo-Latin pāgina a stage for plays, scene, platform, perhaps special use of Latin pāgina page 1
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.
The logistics teams only breathe a sigh of relief once every street is clean, the traffic lights are returned, and the pageant of the parade is across the Lincoln Tunnel.
Rachel and Phoebe enter Emma in a baby beauty pageant while Ross and Joey go to a hockey game.
From Los Angeles Times
A man who could talk about threesomes with a radio shock jock, boldly stroll through a dressing area filled with pageant contestants, rate women on a 1-to-10 scale based on their physical appearance.
From New York Times
On Sunday, three teenage girls in the town competed in a pageant, wearing handmade dresses representing traditional aspects of Quinamayó’s culture.
From New York Times
Unable to pay for a gown, she had to borrow one for the pageant, but she ended up winning, setting the stage for the Miss Universe competition.
From New York Times
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.
