Definition

1. Noun:
   • A transparent bowl in which small fish are kept: A round, usually glass container filled with water, used for keeping pet fish.
   • A state of affairs in which you have no privacy: A situation where one's actions, life, or work are constantly observed by the public, leaving no sense of privacy.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Container):

  • The child was fascinated by the goldfish swimming in the fish bowl.
  • She cleaned the algae from the sides of the fish bowl.

• Noun (Lack of Privacy):

  • Celebrities often feel like they live in a fish bowl, with photographers following their every move.
  • Working in a small, open-plan office can sometimes feel like being in a fish bowl.

Advanced Usage

• "Goldfish bowl": A common variant emphasizing a life of intense public scrutiny.
  • As a politician, his family life was conducted in a goldfish bowl.

Variants and Related Words

• Goldfish bowl (n): Synonymous with "fish bowl," often used metaphorically for a lack of privacy.
• Aquarium (n): A larger, often rectangular tank for keeping fish and aquatic plants. (Note: This is a related but distinct container.)
• Terrarium (n): A transparent enclosure for keeping plants or small land animals. (Note: This is a related but distinct container type.)

Synonyms

• For the container: Glass bowl, aquarium (for small bowls).
• For the state of affairs: Public scrutiny, spotlight, lack of privacy, exposed situation.

Related Idioms

• "Living in a fish bowl": To live a life with very little or no privacy.
  • After winning the championship, the athlete felt he was living in a fish bowl.
• "A fish-bowl existence": A life characterized by constant observation.
  • The royal family leads a fish-bowl existence.

Noun

1. a transparent bowl in which small fish are kept
2. a state of affairs in which you have no privacy
   • the president lives in a goldfish bowl