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

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 image includes a chaotic menagerie of an old hotel and a crowded street, including everything from Djo himself hanging from a window, a kissing couple and a parking ticket dispute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026

She has created large canvases, embellished formal gloves and a gown, and—most shockingly—a decorated taxidermied goat covered in a menagerie of stitched animals, including a mischievous red-winged blackbird and a cheery possum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

Paignton Zoo, which opened in 1923, was developed from the private menagerie of eccentric millionaire Herbert Whitley, says the zoo on its website.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025

“I have a job you might be able to handle. Go find Marlena. Make sure she doesn’t go behind the menagerie for a bit.”

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Wealthy rulers throughout history, from Carlos III of Spain to Moctezuma, the ruler of the Aztec Empire, have kept menageries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 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

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

It is similar to that employed now in the menageries for taming restive horses and wild beasts.

From What Shall We Do? by Tolstoy, Leo, graf