hip·po·drome

(hĭp′ə-drōm′)

1. Sports An arena for equestrian shows.

2. An open-air stadium with an oval course for horse and chariot races in ancient Greece and Rome.

[French, from Old French ypodrome, from Latin hippodromos, from Greek : hippos, horse; see ekwo- in Indo-European roots + dromos, racecourse.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hippodrome

(ˈhɪpəˌdrəʊm)

1. (Theatre) a music hall, variety theatre, or circus

2. (Architecture) (in ancient Greece or Rome) an open-air course for horse and chariot races

[C16: from Latin hippodromos, from Greek hippos horse + dromos a race]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hip•po•drome

(ˈhɪp əˌdroʊm)

n.

1. an arena or structure for equestrian and other spectacles.

2. (in ancient Greece and Rome) an oval track for horse and chariot races.

[1540–50; < Latin hippodromos < Greek hippódromos=hippo- hippo- + drómos -drome]

hippodrome

Ancient Greece and Rome. an arena for horse races.

hippodrome

n → Hippodrom m or nt; (dated: = music hall) → Varieté- or Varietee(theater) nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The king has ordered some novel spectacle -- some gladiatorial exhibition at the hippodrome -- or perhaps the massacre of the Scythian prisoners -- or the conflagration of his new palace -- or the tearing down of a handsome temple -- or, indeed, a bonfire of a few Jews.

Let us follow him to the hippodrome, whither he is proceeding, and listen to the song of triumph which he is commencing:

When he arrives at the hippodrome, he will be crowned with the poetic wreath, in anticipation of his victory at the approaching Olympics.

Look not behind thee, then, at its unavoidable degradation; but take courage, ply thy legs with vigor, and scud for the hippodrome! Remember that thou art Antiochus Epiphanes.

I see a vast hubbub in the hippodrome; what is the meaning of it, I beseech you?"

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Cahill was coming, and the three would have such a jolly chat, and perhaps end up at the Hippodrome. Margaret had no strong regard for Evie, and no desire to meet her fiance, and she was surprised that Helen, who had been far funnier about Simpson's, had not been asked instead.

In time they finished lunch, and Margaret, who had excused herself from the Hippodrome, took her leave.

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I am the best-educated horse outside of the hippodrome, everybody says, and the best-mannered.

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While this bankruptcy of the Circling Brothers had been the greatest financial achievement of Harris Collin's life, nevertheless he enjoyed no mean permanent income from his plant, and, in addition, split fees with the owners of his board animals when he sent them to the winter Hippodrome shows, and, more often than not, failed to split any fee at all when he rented the animals to moving-picture companies.

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The sleepy waves lapping the sand unfurled themselves along the shore that extended as far as the eye could see, but where land began, it was limited by the downs which separated it from the "Swamp," a large meadow shaped like a hippodrome. When they went home that way, Trouville, on the slope of a hill below, grew larger and larger as they advanced, and, with all its houses of unequal height, seemed to spread out before them in a sort of giddy confusion.

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"Tork about yer marine hippodromes,--if this ain't one, I'd like to know!" affirmed another.

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BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome will be hosting a week of activities to celebrate the theatre's history as part of the national Heritage Open Days festival.

Theatre puts spotlight on 120 years of history