1
: a minor show offered in addition to a main exhibition (as of a circus)
2
: an incidental diversion or spectacle
Examples of sideshow in a Sentence
Their disagreement is just a political sideshow when compared to the real issues at hand.
Recent Examples on the Web
The sheriff’s office and the California Highway Patrol started getting calls about a person who allegedly had been shot during a sideshow near Prunedale Road South at Blackie Road around 10:25 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
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Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, 11 Nov. 2024
Another brings Hermès trunks to mind, and another, with its woven purple bedspread, has an entire wall given over to a vintage mural promoting a tattooed bull at a Coney Island sideshow.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
The future of big tech, by comparison, is a sideshow—but a fraught one.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
The question becomes whether Tesla knows something about how Musk’s political sideshow is affecting share value—and failing to offer that up in response to persistent shareholder questions.
—Byjenn Brice, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sideshow 
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Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, 11 Nov. 2024
Another brings Hermès trunks to mind, and another, with its woven purple bedspread, has an entire wall given over to a vintage mural promoting a tattooed bull at a Coney Island sideshow.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
The future of big tech, by comparison, is a sideshow—but a fraught one.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
The question becomes whether Tesla knows something about how Musk’s political sideshow is affecting share value—and failing to offer that up in response to persistent shareholder questions.
—Byjenn Brice, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sideshow
Dictionary Entries Near sideshow
Cite this Entry
“Sideshow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sideshow. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sideshow
noun
side·show
-ˌshō 
: a small show off to the side offered in addition to a main show (as of a circus)
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