menagerie

[ muh-naj-uh-ree, -nazh- ]

/ məˈnædʒ ə ri, -ˈnæʒ- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR menagerie ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

RELATED WORDS

exhibition, collection, aquarium

Nearby words

Origin of menagerie

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for menagerie

A pile of straw right by the menagerie lit on fire, and reached the tent in seconds.
Thrills and Too Many Spills: The Dangers of the Circus|Marina Watts|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Guangdong has long been known for its menagerie of exotic ingredients.
Poisoning of CEO in Cat Stew Stirs Outrage Among Rights Activists|Dan Levin|January 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
What we get is a menagerie of grotesques, which seems to be a Ryan Murphy staple.
The Craziest Show on TV|Jace Lacob, Maria Elena Fernandez|November 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
We sat in front of a modernist gas fireplace as a menagerie of tourists came and went about us.
Pablo Schreiber on His New Off-Broadway Play|Kevin Sessums|February 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST

A year later, the press speculated that Bubbles died when a fire tore through Jackson's Santa Barbara menagerie.
Bubbles Speaks|Ben Montgomery|July 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes they visit a circus or menagerie whose managers have made a timely visit to our inland city.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science|Various
Thrust your hand through the cage at a menagerie, and stroke the back of a cobra from the East Indies.
The Wedding Ring|T. De Witt Talmage
After we had finished our breakfast next morning, we embarked our baggage and menagerie, and prepared to depart.
Adventures of a Young Naturalist|Lucien Biart
"The whole show is dreadful," she cried coming out of the menagerie of M. Martin.
A Passion in the Desert|Honore de Balzac
I understood you to say last week, Mr. Van Pycke, that you were through with menagerie performances for all time.
The Alternative|George Barr McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for menagerie

menagerie

/ (mɪˈnædʒərɪ) /

noun

a collection of wild animals kept for exhibition

the place where such animals are housed

Word Origin for menagerie

C18: from French: household management, which formerly included care of domestic animals. See ménage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for menagerie

menagerie

"collection of wild animals kept in captivity," 1712, from French ménagerie "housing for domestic animals" (16c.), from Old French manage (see menage).