menagerie

American  

[muh-naj-uh-ree, -nazh-] / məˈnædʒ ə ri, -ˈnæʒ- /

noun

• menageries
  plural

1. a collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition.

2. a place where they are kept or exhibited.

3. an unusual and varied group of people.

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menagerie British  

/ mɪˈnædʒərɪ /

noun

1. a collection of wild animals kept for exhibition

2. the place where such animals are housed

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• menageries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of menagerie

1705–15; < French: literally, housekeeping. See ménage, -ery

Explanation

A menagerie (pronounced muh-NA-juh-ree, with NA as in "national") is a collection of live animals that people visit, study, or keep as pets. If you really want a backyard menagerie of farm animals after visiting the petting zoo, take a long sniff and remember what comes with them. Pet lovers can have a menagerie of cats, dogs, and birds or exotic animals such as snakes, ferrets, and piranhas. Zoos have animal collections like the menagerie of sea creatures in the aquarium and the swinging apes in the jungle menagerie. And a science or medical center may have a menagerie of rats for studying behavior. If you want a menagerie, an ant farm is a good one: lots of animals in a container, always working, and never stinking up the place.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

menagerie menageries

The author said he moved to his new home in West Sussex because it had land for his "huge and expanding menagerie", and was quiet.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

They include a selection of more than 90 lots from a "cement menagerie" - painted sculptures of animals, historical figures and rural scenes.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

The office belonged to head coach Sean McVay, and now it features walls painted pink and light blue and a crib, a changing table and a menagerie of stuffed animals.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

Lolita Chakrabarti’s smart adaptation rode the magic carpet of Max Webster’s staging, which had the most enchanting menagerie of puppets since “The Lion King.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

Even in that confined space, it was pacing—like a menagerie ravid, she thought—with just a whisper of her awareness left behind to guide it.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Lamb has worked on the Rose Parade for 52 years, decorating floats with the flowers that bring the fanciful tableaux and myriad menageries to life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024

Eventually, the only animals on display would be a few ancient holdovers from the old menageries, animals in active conservation breeding programs and perhaps a few rescues.

From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2021

In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, both countries launched veritable menageries aboard rockets, although none both reached orbit and survived the journey before 1960’s Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 12, 2021

Pre–20th century zoos were just menageries full of concrete and cages where people could go and gawk at weird wildlife.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2016

If my cell were big enough, I should walk round and round as I have seen the caged animals do in menageries.

From Within Prison Walls being a narrative during a week of voluntary confinement in the state prison at Auburn, New York by Thomas Mott Osborne