car·ou·sel
ˌker-ə-ˈsel 
ˈker-ə-ˌsel
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
b
: a circular conveyor
the luggage carousel at the airport
c
: a revolving case or tray used for storage or display
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
E. B. Whitecalled 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
Terri Auchter2
: a cycle of activity that is complex, fast-paced, or difficult to break out of
the corporate merry-go-round
Examples of carousel in a Sentence
Noun (1)
He loves to ride on the carousel at the park.
the luggage carousel at the airport
a CD player with a six-disk carousel
Noun (2)
weary of the daily merry-go-round of commuting to his job in the city
Recent Examples on the Web
Debby Rice,
Mercury News,
29 June 2026
The usual carousel of famous people making the podcast rounds — Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy, Tyrese on Joe Budden, the endless stream of tiny heads floating in front of screenshots of articles — is interrupted by something startlingly familiar.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
29 June 2026
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
28 June 2026
For Slot to go from silverware to sacked in the space of a year might sound harsh and typical of the modern head coach merry-go-round, but the truth is there have been question marks about Liverpool the whole season.
—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for carousel
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Food trucks and a beer and wine garden will be open, and the Billy Jones Railroad, carousel and lawn games will be running throughout the event.
—
Debby Rice,
Mercury News,
29 June 2026
The usual carousel of famous people making the podcast rounds — Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy, Tyrese on Joe Budden, the endless stream of tiny heads floating in front of screenshots of articles — is interrupted by something startlingly familiar.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
29 June 2026
Noun
Host gifts sometimes feel like a merry-go-round of wine bottles, with the same few staying in rotation.
—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
28 June 2026
For Slot to go from silverware to sacked in the space of a year might sound harsh and typical of the modern head coach merry-go-round, but the truth is there have been question marks about Liverpool the whole season.
—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for carousel
Cite this Entry
“Carousel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carousel. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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