Definitions for circus
ˈsɜr kəscir·cus

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. circusnoun

   a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals

   "he ran away from home to join the circus"

2. circusnoun

   a performance given by a traveling company of acrobats, clowns, and trained animals

   "the children always love to go to the circus"

3. circus, carnivalnoun

   a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment

   "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere"

4. circusnoun

   (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games

5. circusnoun

   an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent

   "they used the elephants to help put up the circus"

6. Circus, genus Circusnoun

   a genus of haws comprising the harriers

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. circusnoun

   A traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts, that gives shows usually in a circular tent.

   The circus will be in town next week.

2. circusnoun

   A round open space in a town or city where multiple streets meet.

   Oxford Circus in London is at the north end of Regent Street.

3. circusnoun

   In the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.

4. circusnoun

   A code name for bomber attacks with fighter escorts in the day time. The attacks were against short-range targets with the intention of occupying enemy fighters and keeping their fighter units in the area concerned.

5. circusnoun

   Circuit; space; enclosure.

   The narrow circus of my dungeon wall. uE000165148uE001 Byron.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circusnoun

   a level oblong space surrounded on three sides by seats of wood, earth, or stone, rising in tiers one above another, and divided lengthwise through the middle by a barrier around which the track or course was laid out. It was used for chariot races, games, and public shows

   Etymology: [L. circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See Circle, and cf. Cirque.]

2. Circusnoun

   a circular inclosure for the exhibition of feats of horsemanship, acrobatic displays, etc. Also, the company of performers, with their equipage

   Etymology: [L. circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See Circle, and cf. Cirque.]

3. Circusnoun

   circuit; space; inclosure

   Etymology: [L. circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See Circle, and cf. Cirque.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circus

   A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists. The word also describes the performance that they give, which is usually a series of acts choreographed to music and introduced by a ringmaster. A traditional circus performance is normally held in a ring 13 m in diameter. This dimension was adopted by Philip Astley to enable a horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers and to more easily retain their balance. Circuses often have a system of tiered seating around the ring for the public; since the late 19th to early 20th century, many circus performances have taken place under large tents commonly referred to as "The Big Top".

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circus

   sėr′kus, n. a circular building for the exhibition of games: a place for the exhibition of feats of horsemanship: a group of houses arranged in the form of a circle: applied to nature, as, e.g., high hills surrounding a plain.—n. Cirque (sėrk), a circus: a ring of some sort. [L. circus; cog. with Gr. kirkos.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. circus

   Song lyrics by circus -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by circus on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Antiquity
   • Arena
   • Bird Genus
   • Company
   • Disturbance
   • Show
   • Stadium

How to pronounce circus?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say circus in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of circus in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of circus in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of circus in a Sentence

1. Teleo Intelligence analyst Antonio Barroso:

   There is a lot of potential for the parliament to become a political circus, but I think by bringing in fresh blood you will actually increase the quality of the debate.

2. Bryan Walters:

   This is a really weird legal case, it’s like a circus, and nothing is clear where we should hang our hat on.

3. Darla Jones:

   Our wounds have healed, but ... they're making a circus out of it.

4. Edward R. Murrow:

   When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.

5. Mary Ann Rogers:

   Instead of it being a circus of zingers and one-liners, we'll hopefully have a stage of people who want to be respectful of each other and really want to discuss the issues, so if there aren't enough debates, there's not enough time to decide. It's too important an election to just leave it to chance.

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