spectacle
Americannoun
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spectacles
plural
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anything presented to the sight or view, especially something of a striking or impressive kind.
The stars make a fine spectacle tonight.
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a public show or display, especially on a large scale.
The coronation was a lavish spectacle.
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spectacles. eyeglasses, especially with pieces passing over or around the ears for holding them in place.
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Often spectacles.
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something resembling spectacles in shape or function.
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any of various devices suggesting spectacles, as one attached to a semaphore to display lights or different colors by colored glass.
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Obsolete. a spyglass.
idioms
noun
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a public display or performance, esp a showy or ceremonial one
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a thing or person seen, esp an unusual or ridiculous one
he makes a spectacle of himself
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a strange or interesting object or phenomenon
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(modifier) of or relating to spectacles
a spectacle case
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of spectacle
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin spectāculum “sight, spectacle,” from spectā(re) “to look at,” literally, “to look repeatedly” (from specere “to look, regard, see”) + -culum -cle 2
Explanation
A spectacle is something you can't believe you are seeing. Get on top of your desk at work in your underpants while playing the kazoo and you're making a spectacle of yourself. The word spectacle comes from the Latin spectaculum meaning "public show," an apt translation because a spectacle, like a public show, is something worth watching. A ballet is a spectacle, or an elaborate production worth watching. Often the word is used to describe something that has a particularly exciting visual element to it — like an acrobatic display or a magic trick. It's something you have to see to really appreciate.
Vocabulary lists containing spectacle
Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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Chains
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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:
Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
An interactive, floor-to-ceiling walk-through “Dune” attraction is coming to Los Angeles in November, and it promises spectacle, as well as a bit of mystery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Papal visits are a spectacle first and foremost: a fun day out even for a hardened skeptic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Certain obvious questions arise from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington this past week, a spectacle that one observer has described as “diplotainment” rather than actual diplomacy.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
They passed a room with a huge piano and another with a dining table, each sight a spectacle, before turning and heading up a set of stairs that made Ophie’s thighs ache.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Harry Styles’ queer residency, and other spectacles like it, are what is left until a new bygone era arrives in time.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
The incident occurred days before Google announced its multi-year partnership with Beast Industries, a company founded by YouTube influencer Jimmy Donaldson, also known as his media personality MrBeast, who produces viral spectacles online.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
It is shocking to read here of the coarsening and corrupting effect of such spectacles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
So here are three things you can do with those retina-saving spectacles.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Aries blocked their path, his furry hands on his hips and brass spectacles sitting on his button nose.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
