big top
5
3.5
- noun
- /bɪɡ tɑp/
:
carpa
- Cant you give me a job in the big top?
- circus big top
- blue big top
- life under the big top
And before I knew, it was in the big top and I kind of lost my brother and his best mate.
- And before I knew, it was in the big top and I kind of lost my brother and his best mate.
Examples
-
Under the big top, only two days count, today and tomorrow.
-
We've got to get the big top rigged somehow and put on a performance.
-
You want to be in the big top.
-
Who knows, you may even discover that you too love the big top.
Blog text (3) -
But any time the big top was empty, I would practice on the wire.
-
But under the big top, one performer's just like another to me.
-
Welcome to the worlds largest circus under the big top!
-
That's quite a show you got going under the big top there, Sparky.
-
Come one, come all to the amazing performances under the big top!
-
The circus is famous for its breathtaking acts, all performed in the big top.
Synonyms
23
5.3
A large tent used for circus shows
7
7.1
A large tent used for parties and events
3
2.5
A large tent where circus performers put on shows and people watch
1
1.3
A big shelter made of cloth for people at outdoor events
A large tent that holds people for a circus show
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'big' (large) with 'top' understood here as the circus tent, so the meaning 'large tent for the main circus performance' is directly compositional. A B1 learner who knows both constituent senses (including the specialized sense of 'top' = circus tent) can derive the MWE meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Big top comes from the picture of a very large roof over the 'circus' show, where the main tent was the highest cover. People called that main tent the big top, so today big top means the main, large tent used for the circus performance.