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cirque

[ surk ]
/ sɜrk /
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noun
circle; ring.
a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation, often containing a small, round lake.
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Origin of cirque

1595–1605; <French <Latin circus;see circus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cirque in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cirque

cirque
/ (sɜːk) /

noun
Also called: corrie, cwm a semicircular or crescent-shaped basin with steep sides and a gently sloping floor formed in mountainous regions by the erosive action of a glacier
archaeol an obsolete term for circle (def. 11)
poetic a circle, circlet, or ring

Word Origin for cirque

C17: from French, from Latin circus ring, circle, circus
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

Scientific definitions for cirque

cirque
[ sûrk ]

A steep, amphitheatre-shaped hollow occurring at the upper end of a mountain valley, especially one forming the head of a glacier or stream. Cirques are formed by the erosive activity of glaciers and often contain a small lake.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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