carny

American  

[kahr-nee] / ˈkɑr ni /

Or carney

noun

plural

carnies

1. a person employed by a carnival.

2. carnival.

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adjective

1. of or relating to carnivals.

   carny slang.

carny ¹ British  

/ ˈkɑːnɪ /

noun

1. short for carnival

2. a person who works in a carnival

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carny ² British  

/ ˈkɑːnɪ /

verb

1. informal to coax or cajole or act in a wheedling manner

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Etymology

Origin of carny

First recorded in 1930–35; carn(ival) + -y ²

Example Sentences

He eventually ended up in Florida, where he became a jack-of-all-trades carny and developed a sharp instinct for advance publicity and promotion.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2025

I’m a carny, and I’ve left the tent.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2023

Did the carny and animal trainer, whose favorite routine was a chicken hopping to music on a hidden hot plate, turn Elvis into his own dancing chicken?

From New York Times • May 21, 2022

"We have been watched, scrutinized and judged. But as they watched us swim around, we have perfected our stroke! We were like carny people."

From Fox News • Jan. 1, 2022

How he just gave up and got a nice little white cottage some place and got a nice little low-paying job and lived unhappily ever after, because a carny isn't a healthy, well-adjusted life?

From Charley de Milo by Janifer, Laurence M.