cirque

[ surk ]
See synonyms for cirque on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. circle; ring.

  2. a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation, often containing a small, round lake.

Origin of cirque

1
1595–1605; <French <Latin circus;see circus

Words Nearby cirque

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cirque in a sentence

  • The pride and admiration Vial has for the artists who put on cirque du Soleil is evident.

  • cirque du Soleil obviously sprang to startling success with a variety of shows since its 1987 founding.

  • Most of its mass is derived directly from the low hanging snow clouds, or is blown into the cirque by eddying winds.

    Mount Rainier | Various
  • What especially distinguishes the Puyallup Glacier from its neighbors to the north is the great elevation of its cirque.

    Mount Rainier | Various
  • The cirque is small and shallow, not as capacious even as either of the twin recesses in the Carbon Glacier's amphitheater.

    Mount Rainier | Various
  • A huge cirque extending up toward Liberty Cap on the western side of the mountain.

    Mount Rainier | Various
  • I will give you my opinion,” he uttered, “after I have investigated matters in the Rue du cirque.

    Other People's Money | Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for cirque

cirque

/ (sɜːk) /


noun
  1. Also called: corrie, cwm a semicircular or crescent-shaped basin with steep sides and a gently sloping floor formed in mountainous regions by the erosive action of a glacier

  2. archaeol an obsolete term for circle (def. 11)

  1. poetic a circle, circlet, or ring

Origin of cirque

1
C17: from French, from Latin circus ring, circle, circus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cirque

cirque

[ sûrk ]


  1. A steep, amphitheatre-shaped hollow occurring at the upper end of a mountain valley, especially one forming the head of a glacier or stream. Cirques are formed by the erosive activity of glaciers and often contain a small lake.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.