circus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
    • he ran away from home to join the circus
  2. noun a performance given by a traveling company of acrobats, clowns, and trained animals
    • the children always love to go to the circus
  3. noun a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment
    carnival.
    • it was so funny it was a circus
    • the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere
  4. noun (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games
  5. noun 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. noun a genus of haws comprising the harriers
    genus Circus.

WordNet

Cir"cus noun
Etymology
L. circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See Circle, and cf. Cirque.
Wordforms
plural Circuses
Definitions
  1. (Roman Antiq.) 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. ✍ The Circus Maximus at Rome could contain more than 100,000 spectators. Harpers' Latin Dict.
  2. A circular inclosure for the exhibition of feats of horsemanship, acrobatic displays, etc. Also, the company of performers, with their equipage.
  3. Circuit; space; inclosure. R.
    The narrow circus of my dungeon wall. Byron.

Webster 1913