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:
It’s a spectacle akin to Nascar on the water, with a jolt of monster truck energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He was there to testify to his ability to do so, and he provided yet another spectacle.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Look to director Christopher Nolan, and his obsession with bringing spectacle to life with real props, real scenes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The frantic search for survivors has long since yielded to the grim spectacle of excavators clearing ruins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
That evening, Sasha checked out the news coverage online, but the spectacle didn’t hold their interest.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
It is shocking to read here of the coarsening and corrupting effect of such spectacles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Some people are using the glasses — which look like a pair of regular spectacles — to record people without their knowledge and publish the videos on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
They look just like ordinary spectacles or sunglasses but contain tiny cameras, microphones and batteries - and can access the internet, usually by pairing with a phone.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Weddings are spectacles, and a couple’s budget can say a lot about what matters to them.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
She peered at me over her spectacles, and then she opened a drawer and fumbled among its contents for a long time, so long that my hopes began to falter.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
