carousel

1 of 2

noun (1)

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

merry-go-round

2 of 2

noun (2)

mer·​ry-go-round ˈmer-ē-gō-ˌrau̇nd 

-gə-

1

a

: an amusement park ride with seats often in the form of animals (such as horses) revolving about a fixed center

The children grabbed each other by the hand and danced off in the direction of the merry-go-round, toward the wonderful music and the wonderful adventure and the wonderful excitement …

—E. B. White

called also carousel

b

: a children's playground apparatus consisting of a platform that revolves about a fixed center

And every day at recess, Reuben would push us on the merry-go-round on the playground. He would push us really fast, and we all thought Reuben made recess great fun—as long as we held on tight and didn't fall off as we whirled around.

—Terri Auchter

2

: a cycle of activity that is complex, fast-paced, or difficult to break out of

the corporate merry-go-round

Synonyms of carousel

Noun (2)

• wheel
• cycle
• circle

Examples of carousel in a Sentence

Noun (1)

He loves to ride on the carousel at the park.

the luggage carousel at the airport

a CD player with a six-disk carousel

Noun (2)

weary of the daily merry-go-round of commuting to his job in the city

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After two years of dating, Swift and Kelce revealed their engagement in a joint Instagram post in August, which featured a five-photo carousel of the couple surrounded by flowers and Kelce kneeling before Swift. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 8 July 2026

The lighting scheme extends onto nearby buildings, particularly the domed structure above the carousel, and onto signage, including the Meteor Astropub sign. — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 July 2026

Noun

Host gifts sometimes feel like a merry-go-round of wine bottles, with the same few staying in rotation. — Heather Bien, Southern Living, 28 June 2026

For Slot to go from silverware to sacked in the space of a year might sound harsh and typical of the modern head coach merry-go-round, but the truth is there have been question marks about Liverpool the whole season. — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 30 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French carrousel, from Italian carosello

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1729, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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