Heard teacher nearly swear in the company of travellers (6)

I believe the answer is:

circus

'company of travellers' is the definition.

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for circus that I've seen before include "Big-top entertainment" , "Trvelling company of entertainers, usually with animals" , "See 2" , "One's named Oxford" , "Ring entertainment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app