merry-go-round

noun

mer·​ry-go-round ˈmer-ē-gō-ˌrau̇nd How to pronounce merry-go-round (audio)
-gə-
1
a
: an amusement park ride with seats often in the form of animals (such as horses) revolving about a fixed center
The children grabbed each other by the hand and danced off in the direction of the merry-go-round, toward the wonderful music and the wonderful adventure and the wonderful excitement …E. B. White

called also carousel

b
: a children's playground apparatus consisting of a platform that revolves about a fixed center
And every day at recess, Reuben would push us on the merry-go-round on the playground. He would push us really fast, and we all thought Reuben made recess great fun—as long as we held on tight and didn't fall off as we whirled around.Terri Auchter
2
: a cycle of activity that is complex, fast-paced, or difficult to break out of
the corporate merry-go-round

Examples of merry-go-round in a Sentence

weary of the daily merry-go-round of commuting to his job in the city
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The solving of the murder is quite straightforward, particularly after last week’s merry-go-round of visits to places Mac visited on Halloween night. Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024 The jagged shadows of buttes and spires disappeared and reappeared, a merry-go-round of angles cast on to the cascading rocks cradling the Colorado River. Lane Sainty, The Arizona Republic, 3 Nov. 2024 With the busing, migrants are circled around inside Mexican territory in a merry-go-round strategy that forces them to repeatedly pay off immigration agents, kidnappers and smugglers. Emily Green, ProPublica, 1 Nov. 2024 But faced with this merry-go-round of offenders, the district attorneys bundled retail theft with drug charges and some other stuff (like longer sentences for dealers) and wrote a proposal to change the rules of Prop. 47. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for merry-go-round 

Word History

First Known Use

1729, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of merry-go-round was in 1729

Dictionary Entries Near merry-go-round

Cite this Entry

“Merry-go-round.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merry-go-round. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

merry-go-round

noun
mer·​ry-go-round
ˈmer-ē-gō-ˌrau̇nd,
-gə-
1
: a circular revolving platform fitted with seats and figures of animals on which people sit for a ride
2
: a rapid round of activities : whirl
a merry-go-round of parties

More from Merriam-Webster on merry-go-round

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