carny

or car·ney

[ kahr-nee ]
See synonyms for carny on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural car·nies.
  1. a person employed by a carnival.

adjective
  1. of or relating to carnivals: carny slang.

Origin of carny

1
First recorded in 1930–35; carn(ival) + -y2

Words Nearby carny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use carny in a sentence

  • Some people never really adjusted to carny life—where everybody knows everything.

    Charley de Milo | Laurence Mark Janifer AKA Larry M. Harris
  • It was much more like a carny haunted house trade-show floor now.

    Makers | Cory Doctorow
  • He felt like doing a carny barker spiel, Step right up, step right up, this way to the great egress!

    Makers | Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for carny (1 of 2)

carny1

carney

/ (ˈkɑːnɪ) /


verb-nies, -nying, -nied, -neys, -neying or -neyed
  1. British informal to coax or cajole or act in a wheedling manner

Origin of carny

1
C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for carny (2 of 2)

carny2

carney or carnie

/ (ˈkɑːnɪ) /


nounplural -nies US and Canadian slang
  1. short for carnival

  2. a person who works in a carnival

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