Carousel Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms carousel 1 American [kar-uh-sel, kar-uh-sel] / ˌkær əˈsɛl, ˈkær əˌsɛl / Sometimes carrousel

noun

1. merry-go-round.

2. a continuously revolving belt, track or other device on which items are placed for later retrieval.

   a baggage carousel at an airport.

Carousel 2 American [kar-uh-sel, kar-uh-sel] / ˌkær əˈsɛl, ˈkær əˌsɛl / Trademark.

1. a circular tray in which photographic transparencies are held on a projector and from which they are lowered through slots for projection as the tray is rotated.

carousel British / ˌkærəˈsɛl, -ˈzɛl /

noun

1. a circular magazine in which slides for a projector are held: it moves round as each slide is shown

2. a rotating conveyor belt for luggage, as at an airport

3. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): merry-go-round. roundabout. a revolving circular platform provided with wooden animals, seats, etc, on which people ride for amusement

4. history a tournament in which horsemen took part in races and various manoeuvres in formation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of carousel

First recorded in 1640–50; from French: “kind of tournament,” from Italian carosello “kind of ball game,” from Neapolitan dialect carusello “game played with clay balls, clay ball,” literally, “little head,” equivalent to carus(o) “shorn head” (perhaps based on the Greek stem kors- “shave”) + -ello diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When her suitcase did not arrive on the baggage carousel, Rosie and Tina, the Danish friend she had travelled with, say they informed staff at the airport and spoke to lost property.

From BBC

It showed a half-dozen upright missiles moving along the tracked carousel in a cavernous tunnel.

From The Wall Street Journal

The British capital will once again host its Autumn/Winter fashion week from Thursday to Monday, after New York's bonanza and before the catwalk carousel moves to Milan and Paris.

From Barron's

The coach had learned by now how quickly plans could change with the coaching carousel.

From Los Angeles Times

But Danny’s mind felt like this one time he was on a carousel and the kid manning the controls got distracted and pressed the wrong button.

From Literature

Related Words

• roundabout
• whirligig

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.