menagerie
Americannoun
-
menageries
plural
-
a collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition.
-
a place where they are kept or exhibited.
-
an unusual and varied group of people.
noun
-
a collection of wild animals kept for exhibition
-
the place where such animals are housed
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing menagerie
Life of Pi
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Wild Animals Aren't Pets" and "Let People Own Exotic Animals"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
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
On songs like “Slushy” and “Predictable Girl,” she intertwines a menagerie of robotic, spacey sirens with tinges of Jersey club beats and ’90s-influenced R&B chords.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
His fake menagerie has become a popular roadside attraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
When I return to the lot, a selected few of the Benzini Brothers tents are up: the menagerie, the stable tent, and the cookhouse.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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
It is these boastful collections of animals, these autocratic menageries, from which the modern zoo, with its didactic plaques and $15 hot dogs, springs.
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
From his collection he supplies museums and menageries with beasts, wild and domestic, and schools and lyceums with animal skeletons, skins, and other objects for the study of natural history.
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2020
We shudder as we think of the menageries we ourselves have consumed!
From The Unpopular Review, Number 19 July-December 1918 by Various
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.
