society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > circus performance > [noun] > circus arena > tent (3)
A large tent used to accommodate a public event or spectacle, esp. an (evangelistic) religious gathering or a circus; cf. big top n. at big, adj. adv.…
the main tent of a circus; (by metonymy) the circus; also in extended use.
In various applications. Originally U.S. A circus tent. Cf. big top n. at big, adj. adv.compounds 2.