spectacle
Americannoun
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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:
An urgent investigation has been launched by Nigeria's environmental agency after a strange white foamy substance appeared on a major highway, sparking a public spectacle and raising safety concerns.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Guzmán, whose trial became a long and costly spectacle, was sentenced to life in a federal “Supermax” prison in Colorado in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Theater Works record plays at UCLA’s Melnitz Hall, where the primal storytelling of actors reading lines and Foley artists adding sounds riveted me more than a Broadway spectacle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Egypt achieved their first-ever World Cup win before later reaching the last 16 teams at the global spectacle for the first time after beating Australia on penalties.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
He’s the one who’s making a spectacle of himself.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Plain and cursed with spectacles, Mary’s on a speed train to spinsterhood when her relatives summon her to London, where suitors await.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Some fasts last only hours; others are carefully staged media spectacles with banners, platforms and live television coverage.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Weddings are spectacles, and a couple’s budget can say a lot about what matters to them.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
They are, at the end of a Sunday night, high fantasy spectacles based on a fictional land with a complex history that was created by author George R.R.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Now she seemed to have on the Professor’s mental or moral spectacles also, for the faults of these poor stories glared at her dreadfully and filled her with dismay.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
