marquee
/mɑːˈkiː
/noun
1chiefly British A large tent used for social or commercial functions.Organisers are planning to have lots of stalls and attractions - and are desperate for donations of tents and marquees to provide shelter for these....
- In addition to the experienced teams involved in rapidly erecting and dismantling marquees and tents, the company is also now organising lighting facilities and generator capacity.
- The initial concept is that the event might be similar to the book festival, which fills Charlotte Square with marquees, with individual tents showcasing different aspects.
2North American A canopy projecting over the entrance to a theatre, hotel, or other building.Along the sidewalks, giant signs and marquees hung from the buildings....
- Why do people still travel to New York to write musicals despite the comparatively few new author names on Broadway marquees?
- Two hours before the first show in York, the crowd was queuing beneath the theatre marquee that read ‘Bingo every night (except Thursday)’.
2.1 [as modifier] Leading; pre-eminent: a marquee player...
- Why is it that marquee players from European countries are eager to represent their country while getting Canadian players is often an onerous chore?
- The rise of salary caps, luxury taxes and the like in professional sports has forced even comparatively wealthy franchises to lure marquee players with different kinds of incentives.
- But those marquee players deplete the budget even more.
With allusion to the practice of billing the name of an entertainer on the canopy over the entrance to a theatre
Origin
Late 17th century: from marquise, taken as plural and assimilated to -ee.