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

Where Penn State went wrong with James Franklin As the season hits its midpoint, the college football coaching carousel is already shifted into high gear. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025

After the song was released, the beauty mogul took to Instagram to share a carousel of photos and videos of herself recording and listening to the song. —Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025

Penn State is off to the races in the coaching carousel following the dismissal of James Franklin on Sunday morning. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Oct. 2025

The day after the Harriet the Spy actress’ tragic death, Gellar paid tribute to Trachtenberg with a carousel of photos from their time on the set of the supernatural drama. —Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 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