Barnum

American

[bahr-nuhm] / ˈbɑr nəm /

noun

P(hineas) T(aylor), 1810–91, U.S. showman who established a circus in 1871.

Barnum British

/ ˈbɑːnəm /

noun

P ( hineas ) T ( aylor ). 1810–91, US showman, who created The Greatest Show on Earth (1871) and, with J. A. Bailey, founded the Barnum and Bailey Circus (1881)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

“Target-date funds really come down to simplicity versus optimization,” Michael Bogardus, a financial planner at Barnum Financial Group, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

“We’ve looked at it through every angle: early roll rates, delinquency rates, cash buffer, spend, discretionary spend, non-discretionary spend,” said Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan’s finance chief, on a call with analysts to discuss earnings.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

By the time he was 15, he had joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as “the world’s youngest puppeteer.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Many end up receiving far less aid than they expect, said Michael Bogardus, a financial planner at Barnum Financial Group.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

But nineteenth-century America was full of “humbug,” a word used for the types of entertainment popularized by renowned promoter P. T. Barnum.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023