big top
Americannoun
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the largest or main tent of a circus.
-
a circus.
noun
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the main tent of a circus
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the circus itself
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The main tent of a circus, as in The high-wire act is almost always in the big top . [c. 1840]
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Underworld slang for a maximum-security prison, as in He was sentenced to ten years in the big top . [1950s]
Etymology
Origin of big top
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95
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 wanna feel something/You know is real, something/beyond the paler things,” the chorus sings in the opening number, describing the promise of the big top.
From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2024
Scouting For Girls, Britpop band Suede and DJ Jo Whiley with her 90s anthems are all set to top the bill in the big top arena.
From BBC • Nov. 2, 2023
This moment offers the rest of us an opportunity to embrace a vision of compassion toward animals not just under the big top but across every facet of our society.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2023
Interestingly, I think that Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka made it okay for big top male athletes to feel comfortable saying that they, too, struggle with their own mental health.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 2021
Thunderous applause exploded from the big top, and the band slid seamlessly into the Gounod waltz.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
