circus
A traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts, that gives shows usually in a circular tent.
Example
“The circus will be in town next week.”
Other meanings
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.”
A spectacle; a noisy fuss; a chaotic and/or crowded place.
Related words
- anticircus
- circusgoer
- circusiana
- circusless
- circuslike
- circusy
- noncircus
- bread and circuses
- contemporary circus
- crap circus
- new circus
- shit circus
Word history
From Ancient Greek "κρίκος".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “circus” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.