Definitions for circus
ˈsɜr kəscir·cus

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

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

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

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.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CIRCUS, Cirquenoun

   An open space or area for sports, with seats round for the spectators.

   Etymology: circus, Latin.

   A pleasant valley, like one of those circuses, which, in great cities somewhere, doth give a pleasant spectacle of running horses. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

   The one was about the cirque of Flora, the other upon the Tarpeian mountain. Edward Stillingfleet.

   See the cirque falls! th’ unpillar’d temple nods;
   Streets pav’d with heroes, Tyber choak’d with gods. Alexander Pope.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Circus

   A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The traditional format, in which a ringmaster introduces a variety of choreographed acts set to music, developed in the latter part of the 19th century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s. As styles of performance have developed since the time of Astley, so too have the types of venues where these circuses have performed. The earliest modern circuses were performed in open-air structures with limited covered seating. From the late 18th to late 19th century, custom-made circus buildings (often wooden) were built with various types of seating, a centre ring, and sometimes a stage. The traditional large tents commonly known as "big tops" were introduced in the mid-19th century as touring circuses superseded static venues. These tents eventually became the most common venue. Contemporary circuses perform in a variety of venues including tents, theatres and casinos. Many circus performances are still held in a ring, usually 13 m (43 ft) in diameter. This dimension was adopted by Astley in the late 18th century as the minimum diameter that enabled an acrobatic horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform their tricks. Contemporary circus has been credited with a revival of the circus tradition since the late 1970s, when a number of groups began to experiment with new circus formats and aesthetics, typically avoiding the use of animals to focus exclusively on human artistry. Circuses within the movement have tended to favour a theatrical approach, combining character-driven circus acts with original music in a broad variety of styles to convey complex themes or stories. Contemporary circus continues to develop new variations on the circus tradition while absorbing new skills, techniques, and stylistic influences from other performing arts.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. circus

   A circus is a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. It is also typically associated with a large tent known as a circus tent or "Big Top" in which the shows take place. The performances are often accompanied by music and are intended to entertain audiences.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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

2. Circusnoun

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

3. Circusnoun

   circuit; space; inclosure

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

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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. 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.

2. Albert Einstein:

   I have become rather like King Midas, except that everything turns not into gold but into a circus.

3. H. L. Mencken:

   Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.

4. Linus Jansen:

   Recently, we took a group to the circus, we offer people things to see that are hard to afford in New York if you don’t have much money.

5. Paul Penzone:

   This facility became more of a circus atmosphere for the general public, starting today, that circus ends and these tents come down.

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