circus

[sur-kuh s]

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noun, plural cir·cus·es.

a large public entertainment, typically presented in one or more very large tents or in an outdoor or indoor arena, featuring exhibitions of pageantry, feats of skill and daring, performing animals, etc., interspersed throughout with the slapstick antics of clowns.Compare big top.

a troupe of performers, especially a traveling troupe, that presents such entertainments, together with officials, other employees, and the company's performing animals, traveling wagons, tents, cages, and equipment.

a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats, in which public entertainments are held; arena.

(in ancient Rome)

a large, usually oblong or oval, roofless enclosure, surrounded by tiers of seats rising one above another, for chariot races, public games, etc.
an entertainment given in this Roman arena, as a chariot race or public game: The Caesars appeased the public with bread and circuses.

anything resembling the Roman circus, or arena, as a natural amphitheater or a circular range of houses.

flying circus.

British. an open circle, square, or plaza where several streets converge: Piccadilly Circus.

fun, excitement, or uproar; a display of rowdy sport.

Obsolete. a circlet or ring.

Origin of circus

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: circular region of the sky, oval space in which games were held, akin to (or borrowed from) Greek kírkos ring, circle

Related formscir·cus·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for circus

festival, spectacle, bazaar, hippodrome, show, gilly, kermis

Examples from the Web for circus

Contemporary Examples of circus

It helps that the circus is like a family—only one that can choose its members.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil
Allison McNearney
December 1, 2014
The circus is now performing 18 shows around the world, with eight performances in Las Vegas alone each night.
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil
Allison McNearney
December 1, 2014
In 1870, the very Germanically-named August Ruengling fixed a harness for a circus rider and obtained free passes for his family.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
Circus parades often became as large a sight as the performance itself; one Barnum and Bailey parade stretched for three miles.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
The modern era of the circus is inseparable from several names you may have encountered.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014

Historical Examples of circus

The meeting was held in the vast auditorium of the Circus Building, which was filled.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
The first man to approach the wicket was the Director of the Circus.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
If Monsieur the Director of the Circus comes now he will go in the special car.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
It was a circus really, but that the worshippers did not know.
American Notes
Rudyard Kipling
If you stop her off there, I dunno but she'd jine a circus or take to drink!
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for circus

circus

noun plural -cuses

a travelling company of entertainers such as acrobats, clowns, trapeze artistes, and trained animals

a public performance given by such a company

an oval or circular arena, usually tented and surrounded by tiers of seats, in which such a performance is held

a travelling group of professional sportsmena cricket circus

(in ancient Rome)

an open-air stadium, usually oval or oblong, for chariot races or public games
the games themselves

British

an open place, usually circular, in a town, where several streets converge
(capital when part of a name)Piccadilly Circus

informal noisy or rowdy behaviour

informal a person or group of people whose behaviour is wild, disorganized, or (esp unintentionally) comic

Word Origin for circus

C16: from Latin, from Greek kirkos ring

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

Word Origin and History for circus

late 14c., in reference to ancient Rome, from Latin circus "ring, circular line," which was applied by Romans to circular arenas for performances and contests and oval courses for racing (especially the Circus Maximus), from or cognate with Greek kirkos "a circle, a ring," from PIE *kirk- from root *(s)ker- "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)).

In reference to modern large arenas for performances from 1791; sense then extended to the performing company, hence "traveling show" (originally traveling circus, 1838). Extended in World War I to squadrons of military aircraft. Meaning "lively uproar, chaotic hubbub" is from 1869. Sense in Picadilly Circus and other place names is from early 18c. sense "buildings arranged in a ring," also "circular road." The adjective form is circensian.

Idioms and Phrases with circus

circus

see three-ring circus.