carol
noun
a song, especially of joy.
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carol
1 American
[kar-uhl]
/ ˈkær əl /
noun
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carols
plural
-
a song, especially of joy.
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a Christmas song or hymn.
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a seat in a bay window or oriel.
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a compartment in a cloister, similar to a carrel.
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a kind of circular dance.
verb (used without object)
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carols,
present (3rd person singular)
-
caroled,
past participle, past
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carolled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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caroling,
present participle
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carolling
present participle (especially British)
-
to sing Christmas songs or hymns, especially in a group performing in a public place or going from house to house.
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to sing, especially in a lively, joyous manner; warble.
verb (used with object)
-
carols,
present (3rd person singular)
-
caroled,
past participle, past
-
carolled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
caroling,
present participle
-
carolling
present participle (especially British)
-
to sing joyously.
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to praise or celebrate in song.
Carol
2
American
[kar-uhl]
/ ˈkær əl /
noun
Carol.
3
American
abbreviation
carol
British
/ ˈkærəl /
noun
-
a joyful hymn or religious song, esp one (a Christmas carol ) celebrating the birth of Christ
-
archaic an old English circular dance
verb
-
(intr) to sing carols at Christmas
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to sing (something) in a joyful manner
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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carolernoun
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carolingnoun
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outcarolverb (used with object)
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uncaroledadjective
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uncarolledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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carolsimple
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carolssimple
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have caroledperfect
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have carolledperfect
-
has caroledperfect
-
has carolledperfect
-
am carolingprogressive
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am carollingprogressive
-
are carolingprogressive
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are carollingprogressive
-
is carolingprogressive
-
is carollingprogressive
-
have been carolingperfect progressive
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have been carollingperfect progressive
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has been carolingperfect progressive
-
has been carollingperfect progressive
Past
-
caroledsimple
-
carolledsimple
-
had caroledperfect
-
had carolledperfect
-
was carolingprogressive
-
was carollingprogressive
-
were carolingprogressive
-
were carollingprogressive
-
had been carolingperfect progressive
-
had been carollingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of carol
1250–1300; Middle English carole ring, circle (of stones), enclosed place for study ( see carrel), ringdance with song (hence, song) < Anglo-French carole, Old French *corole (compare Old Provençal corola ), apparently < Latin corolla garland ( see corolla), conflated with Latin choraula < Greek choraúlēs piper for choral dance, equivalent to chor ( ós ) chorus + -aulēs, derivative of aulós pipe
Explanation
A carol is a religious song that's sung around Christmas time. In some towns, people who celebrate Christmas go to neighbors' houses and sing carols. The most well-known carols are Christmas carols, but word applies to other religious songs as well. Various hymns and folk songs are sometimes called carols, and you can use the word as a verb to mean "sing a carol." In the 14th century, carol meant "to sing," but also "to dance in a ring," from the Old French carole, "ring dance accompanied by singers," probably from the Greek khoraules, "flute player who accompanies the dance."
Vocabulary lists containing carol
Joy To The Word: Christmas Terms
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Let's Go Caroling, List 3
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The School for Good and Evil
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
She was also given police protection at a carol service where she was the special guest.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
Britain's Princess Catherine and her daughter Charlotte have teamed up to perform a piano duet in a prerecorded clip for a Wednesday replay of a Christmas carol service.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
The Princess of Wales hosts her fifth annual carol service at Westminster Abbey, which champions individuals and organisations in the UK who have provided support to local communities.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2025
The King, who seemed in festive form, joked with carol singers that they must be "moonlighting from the Royal Opera House" and teased reporters that they were not getting to test the drinks on display.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
I hummed a carol as I walked away, finally feeling at peace.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Her family actually hail from near Porthcawl, with mum Carol Jones and her Welsh-speaking Nain, external Millie Jones emigrating from Maesteg, also in Bridgend county, to Australia in the 1950s.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
And Carol Kong at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said the yen could benefit further if the tech trade continued to deteriorate.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Her election came 20 years after that of the first Black woman senator, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
The prolific novelist and short-story writer Joyce Carol Oates introduces readers to Julia, one half of a couple whose long marriage has come to contain strange, submerged, undiscussable elements in “The Disappearing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Carol Anne took hold of my hand and squeezed it.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
A waiter friend said, “You have nothing to complain about, Carol. You found your soul mate, the love of your life. The rest of us may never find what you have.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
At times, she recalled, she would advocate for an individual to be released, and a fellow board member would respond, “He’s playing you, Carol. He’s got your number.”
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 25, 2019
Carol enjoyed something of a return to “I am Carol. Do not fudge with Carol” mode too.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 12, 2017
“When I call your name, come stand behind the table if you’re with me, or go over by the door if you’re with Carol. Got it?”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Girl Scouts sing carols as onlookers sip cocoa at the annual lighting ceremony.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
The dazzling display of lights, accompanied by religious and festive imagery and soundtracked by Filipino rap and Christmas carols, is part of the annual Giant Lantern Festival.
From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025
Walk through any mall at this time of year and you’re bound to hear the typical sounds of the season: Christmas carols.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
The group set off from Westminster and walked to Great Ormond Street Hospital, wearing angel wings, where they handed the paper over before singing carols.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
I love Christmas—the tree with its ornaments, visiting relatives with their houses decorated for the holiday, and carols on the radio, which Mom sings along to as long as Dad’s not in the car.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
“For he’s a jolly good patient, for he’s a jolly good patient, for he’s a jolly good patient, which no one can deny!” the staff caroled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
Crystal’s uncle, a professional Santa, was at home with the sniffles, but the group still caroled before perplexed motorists.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2016
For want of glitzy decorations, flowers adorn communal areas and hymns are caroled with great gusto.
From Time ● Dec. 25, 2013
"She certainly won't get any publicity from me !" caroled Miss Lawrence on the Aquitania.
From Time Magazine Archive
And then, from the tall pines and birches that ringed the pond, a wood thrush caroled.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
He’s made personal appearances at Atlanta Braves games and carolled with the Falcons.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 19, 2019
After a prima donna had carolled the National Anthem, John F. Hylan, Mayor of New York, gave the "Caseys" the freedom of the City in one of his famed welcome-speeches.
From Time Magazine Archive
And as I passed thro' Pateley Brigg, A woman carolled blithely, And up and down the cobbled streets The bairnies skipped so lithely.
From The Dales of Arcady by Dorothy Una Ratcliffe
The sun hung over the western hills; and the lark, after its summer silence, carolled over the heads of the last reapers of the season, to cheer their toil.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 16 by Various
The roses were blowing, like whales in the sea Where the apple-bloom icebergs plunged fearless and free, And the larks carolled madly their high jubilee In the ether.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 93, December 3, 1887 by Various
Trivia, festive family feud with the stars, cookie decorating, ornament making, Christmas caroling, Christmas karaoke, silent discos, Zumba and, of course, movie marathons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
At the previous luncheon, Rice had pledged to send GEO employees Christmas caroling across town; he even gave Mayor LaDawn Edwards $300.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2025
Instead of caroling and ringing church bells, the most prominent sounds on Christmastide were now town criers calling: "No Christmas! No Christmas!"
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
Not everyone at the caroling event came for the milk, though: Michael O’Gara, 70, a member of the Hudson Community Choir, lamented that he couldn’t tolerate it as well as he used to.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 24, 2023
She sat down alone, and eventually the collective caroling stopped.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
No carolling, no parties and even Germany's much loved glühwein stalls will close, as drinking outdoors is banned.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2020
Marjorie also waltzes through the Winfields’ kitchen, during the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner, carolling “Ain’t We Got Fun?”
From The New Yorker ● May 14, 2019
In another part of that film—inspired by Holofcener’s crying jag at the mental hospital where she went carolling with her mother—Keener’s character looks into volunteering at a program for kids with Down syndrome.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 30, 2018
Each year, he packs out concert halls across the UK with repertoire ranging from Bach to John Rutter, Handel's Messiah, carolling choirs like King's College, Cambridge and a sprinkling of pop.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 16, 2010
He paused: the birds went on carolling, the leaves lightly rustling.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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