fairground
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fairground
Explanation
A fairground is an open outdoor area where a fair, circus, or some other exhibition sets up temporarily. Many county fairs are put on at the same fairground for a week or two each summer. Many funnel cakes are eaten there. Most fairgrounds have space for rides like Ferris wheels and bumper cars. Agricultural fairs might also have exhibit areas where visitors can see animals, handmade items, baked goods, giant watermelons, and other impressive produce. A traveling circus or carnival might also set up on fairground. The central section of a fairground is usually called a "midway."
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.
See Examples For:
As the 10-day Stampede comes to a close this weekend, and the fairground rides go silent and cowboys head back to the ranch, both sides say this is only the beginning of their fight.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
On the night of the quinceañera in Alice, Pulido made a second stop at a birthday party at the Jim Wells County fairground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
A fairground train carrying children made its way through the crowd, its Christmas soundtrack drowned out by the supportive honks of cars.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
He travelled the country for decades with fairground rides, games and snack vans, the remnants of which can be seen around the yard, including a carousel horse displayed in a lounge window.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025
Grandma hail told us to cover our heads against the fairground sun.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The improvised prison pens—everything from old army barracks and training camps, barns and fairgrounds, derelict cotton warehouses and tobacco factories—were emptied out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
The protesters rallied on Munich's Theresienwiese fairgrounds, denouncing the leadership of Iran's Islamic Republic following the deadly repression of nationwide protests in January.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
He maintained during his trial that his two crossbows were "purely for sport" and that two pistols were the kind "commonly used in fairgrounds".
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
The town of 2,000 also features a full Pusser museum, the Buford Pusser fairgrounds, a water tower with Buford’s image on it, and the Buford Pusser Highway.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
Fang stood two feet behind us, leaning up against the chain-link fence that circled the fairgrounds.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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.
