1
: a minor show offered in addition to a main exhibition (as of a circus)
2
: an incidental diversion or spectacle
Examples of sideshow in a Sentence
Their disagreement is just a political sideshow when compared to the real issues at hand.
Recent Examples on the Web
In our ideal world, social media wouldn’t become a sideshow.
—
Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Mar. 2026
Just before the shooting, fights broke out among numerous people watching a sideshow involving some 20 vehicles, including dirt bikes and ATVs, police initially said.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
For seasonal visitors like De Leidi, 62, the Winter Games are a mere sideshow to their annual fur-finding pilgrimage.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The Claviculars of the world are outliers, sideshow performers, which helps explain their (often fleeting) popularity.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sideshow
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Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Mar. 2026
Just before the shooting, fights broke out among numerous people watching a sideshow involving some 20 vehicles, including dirt bikes and ATVs, police initially said.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
For seasonal visitors like De Leidi, 62, the Winter Games are a mere sideshow to their annual fur-finding pilgrimage.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The Claviculars of the world are outliers, sideshow performers, which helps explain their (often fleeting) popularity.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sideshow
Cite this Entry
“Sideshow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sideshow. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sideshow
noun
side·show
-ˌshō 
: a small show off to the side offered in addition to a main show (as of a circus)
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