pageant

noun

pag·​eant ˈpa-jənt 

1

a

: a mere show : pretense

b

: an ostentatious display

2

: show, exhibition

especially : an elaborate colorful exhibition or spectacle often with music that consists of a series of tableaux, of a loosely unified drama, or of a procession usually with floats

3

: pageantry sense 1

Synonyms

• cavalcade

Examples of pageant in a Sentence

They disagreed with the pageant judges.

Their church puts on an annual Christmas pageant.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hudson will try to win a beauty pageant in her home state of Maine, and will face an uncommon opponent Hudson will be competing in the Miss Maine USA Beauty Pageant later this month after finishing as the first runner-up in last year’s contest. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025

Enter Heidi Gardner dressed like a pageant queen, but with a gown made entirely from toilet paper. —Tom Tapp, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025

Or her impromptu pizza and beer party with the pageant girls? —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Itzel Guerra was described has having a beautiful and outgoing soul, with a love for dancing, beauty pageants, singing and vampires. —Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pagyn, padgeant, literally, scene of a play, from Anglo-French pagine, pagent, from Medieval Latin pagina, perhaps from Latin, page

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

pageant

noun

pag·​eant ˈpaj-ənt 

1

: an impressive exhibition or spectacle

2

: an entertainment consisting of scenes based on history or legend