menagerie

Everyday

1. A collection of wild or unusual animals kept to be shown to people, especially in the past (an early kind of zoo). tree →
2. (informal) A mixed group of many different animals, or of strange and different people or things. tree →

In the lessons

In history, kings kept menageries, like the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London (which had lions and a polar bear!). Today we have zoos, which also focus on care and saving species. In everyday talk, a family with lots of pets has «a menagerie». Phrases: «a menagerie of pets», «the royal menagerie».

Examples

• The Tower of London once had a royal menagerie with lions. tree →
• Our house is a menagerie: two dogs, a cat, three rabbits and a snake. tree →
• The circus travelled with a menagerie of wild animals. tree →
• Grandma's garden is a menagerie of birds and squirrels. tree →
• The story is about a strange menagerie of creatures in a magic wood. tree →
• A menagerie was an early kind of zoo. tree →
• The class pets became a little menagerie. tree →
• The play had a menagerie of odd characters. tree →
• In vain the Giant showed me his menagerie, which was entirely composed of children who would not work! tree →

Note

Countable: one menagerie, two menageries. Pronounced «meh-NAJ-er-ee». Spelling: m-e-n-a-g-e-r-i-e. A loanword from French. Not a maths word.