merry-go-round
Americannoun
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Also called carousel. (in amusement parks, carnivals, etc.) a revolving, circular platform with wooden horses or other animals, benches, etc., on which people may sit or ride, usually to the accompaniment of mechanical or recorded music.
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a rapid whirl or a busy round, as of social life or business affairs.
noun
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another name for roundabout
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a whirl of activity or events
the merry-go-round of the fashion world
Usage
What is a merry-go-round? A merry-go-round is an amusement park ride that consists of a revolving, circular platform with wooden horses or other fixtures, as in Sofia and Camila begged their parents to ride the merry-go-round with them. A merry-go-round is also known as a carousel. People sit on the fixtures, while the platform goes around slowly and cheery (some might say “cheesy”) music plays. Merry-go-round can also be used figuratively to refer to a whirl, or a busy round, of activity, as in Sports fans are always delighted by the merry-go-round of the trading season. Example: I always enjoyed listening to carnival music when I rode the merry-go-round as a kid.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of merry-go-round
First recorded in 1720–30
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.
See Examples For:
“It’s very much a merry-go-round, and that merry-go-round had to keep spinning faster,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
When his camera isn’t woozily circling like a merry-go-round, his edginess glints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
It's easy to feel confused, or perhaps even a little dizzy, when contemplating the merry-go-round of changes in the senior team at Aston Martin in the past couple of years.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
I’m not sure how to step off the merry-go-round.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026
It made Emma think of a merry-go-round starting up.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Angular momentum is familiar in everyday life through spinning objects like bicycle wheels or merry-go-rounds, but at the atomic scale it is deeply connected to magnetism.
From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026
For years, Scottish football used to look at managerial merry-go-rounds in English football and decry it as a basket case environment, Now, it’s every bit as volatile in this country, if not worse.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2024
Humans’ love of spinning around in circles, especially during childhood, is evidenced by the enduring popularity of playground merry-go-rounds, revolving fun park rides and the irresistible draw of somersaulting down a hill.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Human children indulge in spinner bowls at playgrounds and in merry-go-rounds, carousels and carnival rides that spin them through the air.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 28, 2023
There were toy automobiles and trucks, windmills and merry-go-rounds, airplanes, boats and a lot of others, mostly run on batteries.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
