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

In a coaching carousel with more big jobs than big names, a school might kick the tires on someone with multiple national titles. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

The carousel post features photos of Khai on a chocolate-theme ride at Hershey Park and saying hello to her grandma, Yolanda Hadid. —Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025

But in a Netflix carousel of hourlong specials, Morgan looks like a voyager from somewhere else entirely. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2025

Norvell’s future has been hanging over the Seminoles and what’s already one of the wildest coaching carousels in college football history since FSU’s stunning loss at Stanford two weeks ago. —Matt Baker, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French carrousel, from Italian carosello

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for carousel

• bagatelle
• caravel
• carrousel
• citadel
• clientele
• commonweal
• decibel
• demoiselle
• fontanelle
• infidel
• isabel
• machiavel

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