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• Colosseum
  Colosseum

  noun

  an ancient amphitheater in Rome, begun a.d. c70 by Vespasian, having the form of an oval 617 by 512 feet (188 by 156 meters).
• colosseum
  colosseum

  noun

  a variant spelling of coliseum

Colosseum

American  

[kol-uh-see-uhm] / ˌkɒl əˈsi əm /

noun

1. an ancient amphitheater in Rome, begun a.d. c70 by Vespasian, having the form of an oval 617 by 512 feet (188 by 156 meters).

2. (lowercase) coliseum.

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colosseum ¹ British  

/ ˌkɒləˈsɪəm /

noun

1. a variant spelling of coliseum

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Colosseum ² British  

/ ˌkɒləˈsɪəm /

noun

1. an amphitheatre in Rome built about 75–80 _ad

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Colosseum Cultural  

1. A great arena of ancient Rome, which seated fifty thousand. It is in ruins today, but its former glory can still be imagined.

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Discover More

According to tradition, persecuted Christians (see also Christian) were fed to lions in the Colosseum for the entertainment of the Romans. (See also bread and circuses.)

Some of the contests staged in the Colosseum were between gladiators, who fought with swords; some were between people and animals. The arena could even be flooded for mock sea battles.

Etymology

Origin of Colosseum

< Latin, noun use of neuter of colossēus gigantic < Greek kolossiaîos, equivalent to koloss ( ós ) colossus + -iaios adj. suffix

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Colosseum colosseum

Commodus’s idea of a good time was to dress up in gladiator costume and kill scores of wild animals in the Colosseum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

A double-page illustration of the bustling crowds around the Colosseum acts as both an entertaining “Where’s Waldo?”-esque search for the statues and an example of the frenetic discombobulation they feel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

"The idea of doubling the night tours and doing them also on Fridays and Saturdays was mainly to give access to visitors that prefer cooler hours," said Simone Quilici, director of the Colosseum complex.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

In the Colosseum, cooling fans with mists have been set up in the entrances.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

In the huge Colosseum, with thousands of cheering ghosts, the god Bacchus staring down at him, and the two twelve-foot giants looming over him, Percy felt as small and insignificant as a bug.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Social media is a colosseum of the recreationally offended, and the quickest way to get attention is to be mean and crude.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

The media built him up, and as we saw in the Roman colosseum, the thumbs-up can quickly turn to thumbs-down.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2024

In the late fourth century, philosopher St Augustine wrote of how he visited the colosseum with Alypius of Thagaste, a friend who was morally opposed to the violence of the Roman arena.

From BBC ● May 8, 2024

A plaster cast of each player's torso greets them as they enter the massive stage where they initially gather, rendering them awestruck at the sight of this cross between a colosseum and a museum.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2023

The colosseum was packed to its rounded walls.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

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