circus
/ˈsɜːkəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.98 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts, that gives shows usually in a circular tent.
noun
In the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.
Example Sentences
- "The circus will be in town next week."
- "Oxford Circus in London is at the north end of Regent Street."
- "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."
- ""Right you are; I'll put him wise," undertook Nickle briskly. "After all, it's entirely your circus. Shall we stay here and—""
- "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."
- "A 'CIRCUS' of puffins will take flight to their new perches over the next few days, after their official unveiling at Government House."
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɜːkəs/
- British English: /ˈsɜːkəs/