This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
cirque
[ surk ]
/ sɜrk /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
circle; ring.
a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation, often containing a small, round lake.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of cirque
1595–1605; <French <Latin circus;see circus
Words nearby cirque
Cirebon, Cirenaica, Cirencester, cire perdue, cirio, cirque, cirrate, cirrhosis, cirrhus, cirri, cirriform
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.