carousel

noun

car·​ou·​sel ˌker-ə-ˈsel 

ˌka-rə-

also

-ˈzel  ˈker-ə-ˌsel 

ˈka-rə-

variants or less commonly carrousel

1

: a tournament or exhibition in which horsemen execute evolutions

2

a

: merry-go-round

b

: a circular conveyor

the luggage carousel at the airport

c

: a revolving case or tray used for storage or display

Examples of carousel in a Sentence

He loves to ride on the carousel at the park.

the luggage carousel at the airport

a CD player with a six-disk carousel

Recent Examples on the Web

That might speak to entertainment executives beginning to think that icon-dense carousels aren’t necessarily the best way to show off a streamer’s offerings. — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 20 Sep. 2026

Yet both, in respective SEC openers, could use a win more than ever after the carousel spit them out into disaster relief. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026

Families will have a blast riding the carousel and sharing funnel cake at Fantasy Island Amusement Park. — Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 17 Sep. 2026

Back in June, Hamilton appeared on her Instagram feed for the first time, making a cameo in one of her carousels. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French carrousel, from Italian carosello

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for carousel

• bagatelle
• calomel
• caravel
• carrousel
• citadel
• clientele
• commonweal
• coronel
• decibel
• demoiselle
• fontanelle
• hydrocele

Kids Definition

carousel

noun

car·​ou·​sel

variants also carrousel

ˌkar-ə-ˈsel

also -ˈzel;

ˈkar-ə-ˌsel

also -ˌzel

: merry-go-round sense 1