SINCE 1828

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carny

noun, often attributive car·ny \ ˈkär-nē \

variants: or carney or carnie

Definition of carny

plural carnies or carneys

1 :carnival 3a

2 :a person who works with a carnival

Recent Examples of carny from the Web

Barnum displayed physical freaks; psychoanalyst Krafft-Ebing categorized and explained mental freaks; carny Daniel Mannix showed that geeks were just like you and me.

— charles paul freund, WIRED, "Fear of a Freak Planet," 1 Oct. 2000

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carny.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of carny

circa 1933

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