noun
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short for carnival
-
a person who works in a carnival
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of carny
First recorded in 1930–35; carn(ival) + -y 2
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:
The man is rhapsodically shameless—oafishly charismatic, memorably strange-looking—a cynic at heart, and a carny in spirit.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Once out of the carny racket, McCurdy became more famous in death than he had been in life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2025
I’m a carny, and I’ve left the tent.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2023
Did the old carny barker play out a shattering real-life version of “Nightmare Alley,” his favorite movie, where he turned the most successful solo recording artist of all time into the geek?
From New York Times ● May 21, 2022
Look, professor," he said, "I've got a job, right here in the carny.
From Charley de Milo by Laurence M. Janifer
His principled defense of free speech shouldn’t preclude him from excluding the cranks and carnies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
“The carnies know they’re carnies,” del Toro told me.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2021
But his patience with carnies allows him astonishing access.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2021
It’s the interest in the carnies who make the world go round that makes his work ring true.
From Slate ● Feb. 20, 2020
Not obviously with actors because we're basically shiftless carnies you know.
From Fox News ● Oct. 22, 2019
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.
