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

Booker pointed to Lewis' engagement ring in the coastal carousel's first photo while another shows Booker proposing on one knee. —Jay Stahl, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

Meanwhile, resharing others’ posts or overusing carousels significantly underperforms. —Justin Nassiri, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

This Versailles-meets-surrealism palace hotel is set on the doorstep of the Tuileries Garden, where hotel staff can arrange for carousel rides and loaner toy sailboats. —Elissa Garay, AFAR Media, 3 Sep. 2025

In the carousel of five photos, one of them shows Swift showing off her massive engagement ring, which could be worth $1 million. —Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 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