noun
cirque
surk
noun
1
A bowl-shaped hollow carved into a mountainside by glacial erosion, usually at the head of a valley.
"Hikers stopped to admire the dramatic cirque carved by the ancient glacier."
How to Use Cirque
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA geological term for a rounded, steep-walled basin left behind by a glacier.
When to use it
A specialised term used mainly in geography and geology.
Common pairings
glacial cirque
Word Forms
cirques plural
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Hikers stopped to admire the dramatic _____ carved by the ancient glacier.
Etymology
Borrowed from French cirque, from Latin circus ("circle, ring") — a doublet of the English word "circus".