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carousel

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A pleasure ride, usually found at amusement parks and fairs and accompanied by music.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kehruhsel

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɛɹəsɛl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A pleasure ride, typically found at amusement parks and fairs and accompanied by music, consisting of a slowly revolving circular platform on which are fixed various seats, frequently shaped like horses or other animals, cars, etc., which may also move up and down; a merry-go-round.

  2. A large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement

  3. A continuously revolving device for item delivery.

  4. graphical user interface

    A visual component that displays a horizontal series of items one at a time.

  5. The rotating glass plate in a microwave oven.

  6. An equestrian discipline in which groups of riders make various formations.

verb

  1. To revolve or change places.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A pleasure ride, typically found at amusement parks and fairs and accompanied by music, consisting of a slowly revolving circular platform on which are fixed various seats, frequently shaped like horses or other animals, cars, etc., which may also move up and down; a merry-go-round.

Used this way, carousel is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. This is a musical use: it is everyday language among musicians and listeners, and specialised outside that.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Music/performance
  • Arts writing

Nearby words

  • roundabout , used mainly in Regional English
  • whirligig , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Large / pleasure

slide carouselmusical carousel

Continuously

carousel projector

Conveyer

luggage carouselbaggage carousel

Other combinations

carousel horsecarousel clubantique carousel

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • luggage carouselnounCompound term

    A conveyer belt that carries luggage to be claimed by air travelers.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: pleasure ride

roundaboutRegional

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.