- [countable]
a group of people, sometimes with trained animals, who perform acts with skill in a show that travels around to different places 马戏团 - the circus[singular]
a show performed by people who are members of a circus, usually in a large tent called the big top 马戏表演（常在大帐篷里进行） - [singular] (informal, disapproving)
a group of people or an event that attracts a lot of attention 引人注意的人（或事）；热闹场面 A media circus surrounded the royal couple wherever they went. 无论王室夫妇走到何处，他们的身后都会跟着一大群媒体记者。 the American electoral circus 美国大选的热闹场面
- [countable] (British English)
(used in some place names) a round open area in a town where several streets meet （用于一些地名）圆形广场，环形交叉路口 Piccadilly Circus 皮卡迪利广场
- [countable]
(in ancient Rome 古罗马 a place like a big round outdoor theatre for public games, races, etc. 露天圆形竞技场
Word Originlate Middle English (with reference to the arena of Roman antiquity): from Latin, ‘ring or circus’. The sense ‘travelling company of performers’ dates from the late 18th cent.