merry-go-round

noun

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

• circle
• cycle
• round
• wheel
• zodiac

Examples of merry-go-round in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

But faced with this merry-go-round of offenders, the district attorneys bundled retail theft with drug charges and some other stuff (like longer sentences for dealers) and wrote a proposal to change the rules of Prop. 47. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024

His performance fell short of Red Bull’s expectations, and with a talented Liam Lawson waiting in the wings, the pressure to retain the talent within their junior program intensified, leaving the Australian feeling caught in the Red Bull merry-go-round. —Kanzah Maktoum, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

Among the alliance’s members were longtime residents like Mario Rivera, who attended the school from 1950 to 1957 and remembers playing in the school playground, a skimpy patch of mostly dirt sporting a slide, swings and merry-go-round along with basketball and volleyball courts. —Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 18 Sep. 2024

Read More: How To Watch The VMAs 2024 In fact, the late-night hosting merry-go-round became a pop culture obsession. —Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1729, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

merry-go-round

noun

mer·​ry-go-round

ˈmer-ē-gō-ˌrau̇nd,

-gə-

1

: a circular revolving platform fitted with seats and figures of animals on which people sit for a ride

2

: a rapid round of activities : whirl

a merry-go-round of parties