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

Space-savers will include pull-out vertical pantries that slide into narrow spaces, toe-kick drawers that utilize the area beneath your cabinets and corner carousel units that make those awkward spaces accessible. —Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026

The final slide of her carousel featured a video of her trying her hand at Muay Thai, a form of Thai boxing. —Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026

After a carousel that included Smith, Orlando Brown and Eric Fisher, the problem had been solved. —Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026

The Almost Famous actress, 46, shared an Instagram carousel featuring an array of childhood photos on Wednesday, Jan 7, to mark her eldest son Ryder's birthday. —Clare Fisher, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026

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