circus
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circus
- /ˈsɜːkəs/ Australia, UK
- /ˈsɝkəs/ Canada, US
- /ˈsɪɾkəs/ Scotland
- /ˈsøːkəs/ New Zealand, Wales
- /ˈseːkəs/
- /ˈsɛːkəs/
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)kəs
Where it comes from
From Middle English circus, circo, from Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos), κίρκος (kírkos, “ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). Doublet of cirque. Cognate with Old English hring (whence English ring) and Old English hringsetl (“circus”, literally “ring-seat”).
noun circuses · circusses · circi
- 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.
- 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. The village would be turned into a circus over this. He groaned, it was just the sort of case the media had a field day over. He had to get the whole thing sorted fast before anyone got wind of it.
- An undertaking or arrangement. "Right you are; I'll put him wise," undertook Nickle briskly. "After all, it's entirely your circus. Shall we stay here and—"
- A group of puffins. The circus of puffins were pictured by Alana Willox who was out on a walk at the Bullers of Buchan in Buchan, Aberdeenshire on Sunday.
- In the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.
- 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.
- Circuit; space; enclosure. The narrow circus of my dungeon wall.
verb circuses · circusses · circusing · circussing · circused
- To take part in a circus; or to be displayed as if in a circus.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: carnival, genus circus, ringmaster, sideshow, arena, drama, show, comedy, store, siege, madhouse, duck, fuss, mess, nonsense, hell
Translations
Every language
noun company that travels
| Español | circo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 서커스 seokeoseu, 곡마단 gongmadan |
| 日本語 | サーカス sākasu, 曲馬団 kyokubadan |
| 中文 | 馬戲團 /马戏团 mǎxìtuán, 馬戲場 /马戏场 mǎxìchǎng, 雜技場 /杂技场 zájìchǎng |
| हिन्दी | सर्कस sarkas |
| Português | circo |
| Français | cirque |
| Deutsch | Zirkus |
| Italiano | circo |
| Ελληνικά | τσίρκο tsírko |
| Română | circ |
| Русский | цирк cirk |
| Tiếng Việt | xiếc, xiệc |
| العربية | سِيرْك sirk |
| עברית | קִרְקָס kirkás |
noun round open space
| Português | cruzamento |
|---|---|
| Italiano | circo |
| Русский | кру́глая пло́щадь krúglaja plóščadʹ |
Talk about this word "circus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/circus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. circus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/circus "circus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/circus.Cite this
@misc{circus_2026,
title = {circus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/circus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
