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• carrel
  carrel

  noun

  a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.
• Carrel
  Carrel

  noun

  Alexis 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905–39: Nobel Prize 1912.

carrel

¹ American  

[kar-uhl] / ˈkær əl /

Or carrell

noun

1. Also called cubicle, stall. a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.

2. a table or desk with three sides extending above the writing surface to serve as partitions, designed for individual study, as in a library.

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Carrel ² American  

[kuh-rel, kar-uhl, ka-rel] / kəˈrɛl, ˈkær əl, kaˈrɛl /

noun

1. Alexis 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905–39: Nobel Prize 1912.

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Carrel ¹ British  

/ ˈkærəl, kəˈrɛl, karɛl /

noun

1. Alexis (əˈlɛksɪs; French alɛksi). 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, active in the US (1905–39): developed a method of suturing blood vessels, making the transplantation of arteries and organs possible: Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1912

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carrel ² British  

/ ˈkærəl /

noun

1. a small individual study room or private desk, often in a library, where a student or researcher can work undisturbed

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Etymology

Origin of carrel

1585–95; variant spelling of carol enclosure

Explanation

A carrel is a cozy, private work area usually found in a library. When you have a long paper to write, you might want to settle into a carrel with your books and laptop. A carrel is a cubicle or alcove which contains a desk and chair, and sometimes a shelf and electric outlets. Carrels are perfect study spots for college students, but anyone who uses a library can sit in a carrel to read or write. The word comes from the Medieval Latin carula, "small study in a cloister," possibly from a Latin root word meaning "ring."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carrel Carrel

John was old enough to climb out, but Witcher put Delia in the carrel and gave John a book.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2022

He shares his remote refuge, a forgotten carrel on the 9th floor, with a woman with a distinct resemblance to Ozeki herself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2021

If the guy in the next carrel who occasionally clips his nails also cleans the microwave, it’s harder to get annoyed.

From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2016

I sat in a remote study carrel in the library’s stacks, next to a narrow, dim window with an interior view, and idled through the brittle pages in bound volumes.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 16, 2015

Tats joins me at a study carrel as I’m reviewing arguments against humanizing Caliban.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

I must confess I had never heard of Alexis Carrel, the French surgeon who in 1912 won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Swiss-Italian boundaries will be changed in the region of Plateau Rosa, the Carrel refuge and Gobba di Rollin - all are near the Matterhorn and popular ski resorts including Zermatt.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2024

David M. Friedman, who wrote “The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever,” said he had not read Pearlman’s book but found the theory about Lindbergh and Carrel absurd.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2024

Around the same time Loeb's book was published, French physician Alexis Carrel developed techniques for growing tissues in a culture medium: a kind of unformed living material.

From Scientific American ● May 31, 2023

Carrel was a mystic who believed in telepathy and clairvoyance, and thought it was possible for humans to live several centuries through the use of suspended animation.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Related Words

• box
• corner
• counter
• cubicle
• hut
• pew
• stall