trapeze

American  

[tra-peez, truh-] / træˈpiz, trə- /

noun

trapezes plural

1. an apparatus, used in gymnastics and acrobatics, consisting of a short horizontal bar attached to the ends of two suspended ropes.

2. (on a small sailboat) a device by which a crew member can be suspended almost completely outboard while hiking.

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trapeze British  

/ trəˈpiːz /

noun

1. a free-swinging bar attached to two ropes, used by circus acrobats, etc

2. a sling like a bosun's chair at one end of a line attached to the masthead of a light racing sailing boat, used in sitting out

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trapezes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trapeze

1860–65; < French, special use of trapèze trapezium

Explanation

If you've been to the circus, you've probably seen a trapeze, a swing-like bar on ropes hanging high in the air. Trapeze performers do daring tricks while swinging far above the ground. Acrobats and trapeze artists are trained to dangle and flip and leap from trapeze to trapeze as they swing dozens of feet above the ground. The trapeze was invented in 1859 by a French performer named Jules Leotard. The word trapeze comes from the Latin word trapezium, a geometrical four-sided figure that is mimicked by the shape made by the ceiling, ropes, and bar in a trapeze.

Example Sentences

Times entertainment and features editor Brittany Levine Beckman suggests the Santa Monica Trapeze School, which is where her husband/then boyfriend took her on a birthday date years ago.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

Trapeze Talia was scouted by a circus direct to join after winning the UK championships three years in a row and fell in love with the life and has never looked back.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2022

She was starting a new imprint, Trapeze, at the publishing conglomerate Hachette, whose UK headquarters occupy an angular modern building on the north bank of the Thames.

From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 2016

For example, Representative Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat on the committee, recently organized a fund-raiser called Learn the Art and Physics of Trapeze.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2014

Many a later performer on the Flying Trapeze let us see that the feats he is attempting are so difficult that they cannot be accomplished without obvious effort.

From A Book About the Theater by Matthews, Brander