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

This past May, Stause shared a photo of herself and G Flip in an Instagram carousel, which included a picture of a little girl whose face was covered with a heart emoji. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 20 June 2025

For context, the managerial carousel started at warp-speed this summer and left the FIGC with whiplash. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 20 June 2025

Kulture also appeared in the carousel with a glamorous shot of her poolside, dressed in a beige swimsuit, LV scarf, matching floral bag and Van Cleef & Arpels anklets. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 17 June 2025

In the same vein, the Royals can’t let losses keep piling up and push them further down the American League carousel. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 June 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