carousing

American

[kuh-rou-zing] / kəˈraʊ zɪŋ /

noun

the act or habit of engaging in drunken revelry.

I’ve been having a slow morning mentally—maybe from all that carousing at the pub last night.

adjective

engaging in drunken revelry.

He joked about a family wedding he had attended over the weekend, and some of the carousing relatives he’d seen there.

Other Word Forms

carousingly adverb
uncarousing adjective

Etymology

Origin of carousing

First recorded in 1580–90; carouse ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; carouse ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

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.

Beneath the gaiety and carousing ran an undercurrent of anguish: The country remains locked in a ferocious war with Russia.

From Washington Times • Sep. 15, 2023

Beneath the gaiety and carousing ran an undercurrent of anguish: the country remains locked in a ferocious war with Russia.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023

The camera jogs along with Ken as he holds back snot and tears, doing his best not to alarm the carousing guests.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2023

In 1909, the Elks, in a carousing frame of mind, staged their national convention here; the International Railway Journal called it “the biggest event for the best people in the prettiest town on earth.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2023

It was late, but a bone expert from Chicago had presented that night and they might still be carousing in the local saloons.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023