Illustration of cirque
- cirque 3
1
archaic
: circus
3
: a deep steep-walled basin on a mountain usually forming the blunt end of a valley
Examples of cirque in a Sentence
the harvest moon was a glowing cirque in autumn sky
Recent Examples on the Web
See this high-flying spectacle performed by the world's most elite cirque performers.
—
Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Dec. 2025
The traveling variety show featuring high-flying cirque performances stops at Butler.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 24 Nov. 2025
Out there and to not descend down into the cirque Lake, but to ride this ridge out just on and on and on and on.
—Outside Online, 29 Oct. 2025
The hike to the cirque and back to the trailhead is six miles.
—Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cirque
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Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Dec. 2025
The traveling variety show featuring high-flying cirque performances stops at Butler.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 24 Nov. 2025
Out there and to not descend down into the cirque Lake, but to ride this ridge out just on and on and on and on.
—Outside Online, 29 Oct. 2025
The hike to the cirque and back to the trailhead is six miles.
—Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cirque
Cite this Entry
“Cirque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cirque. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cirque
noun
: a deep basin on a mountain that is shaped like half a bowl
Etymology
French, from Latin circus "circle, arena"
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