1
a
: a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition
b
: a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition
2
: a varied mixture
a menagerie of comedians—
TV Guide
TV GuideA menagerie of grotesque statues stood in the garden.
Did you know?
Back in the days of Middle French, ménagerie meant "the management of a household or farm" or "a place where animals are tended." When English speakers adopted menagerie in the 1600s, they applied it specifically to places where wild and often also foreign animals were kept and trained for exhibition, as well as to the animals so kept. This second meaning was eventually generalized to refer to any varied mixture, especially one that includes things that are strange or foreign to one's experience.
Examples of menagerie in a Sentence
a menagerie of rare creatures
the living room is eclectically furnished with a menagerie of garage-sale finds
Recent Examples on the Web
Before there were zoos, there were menageries, collections of living animals that were housed in the gardens of European royalty.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2025
Instead of moving to Nashville, the epicenter of the CCM industry, Lake lives with his wife, Brittany; their three sons; and a menagerie including cows, mini-donkeys and two dogs on a sprawling rural property just outside Charleston.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 17 June 2025
The ocean floor is home to a menagerie of odd and peculiar creatures.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025
And while not as much of a crazed scene as the 2019 event, where a menagerie of Dem candidates vied for stage-time as the partiers shimmied shoulder to shoulder, Friday night's event was still high-energy.
—Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for menagerie
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Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2025
Instead of moving to Nashville, the epicenter of the CCM industry, Lake lives with his wife, Brittany; their three sons; and a menagerie including cows, mini-donkeys and two dogs on a sprawling rural property just outside Charleston.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 17 June 2025
The ocean floor is home to a menagerie of odd and peculiar creatures.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025
And while not as much of a crazed scene as the 2019 event, where a menagerie of Dem candidates vied for stage-time as the partiers shimmied shoulder to shoulder, Friday night's event was still high-energy.
—Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for menagerie
Cite this Entry
“Menagerie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menagerie. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
menagerie
noun
me·nag·er·ie
mə-ˈnaj-(ə-)rē 
also -ˈnazh-
1
: a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition
2
: a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition
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