Carousel rides are typically accompanied by looped circus music. The word carousel derives from the French word carrousel, meaning little battle, a reference to European tournaments of the same name starting in the 17th century. Participants in these tournaments rode live horses and competed in various cavalry skill tests, such as ring jousting. Definition of carousel noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning , pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Carousel can mean a merry-go-round at a fair, a moving strip at an airport, or a brand name for a projector device. Learn more about the word, its pronunciation, and its usage with examples and translations. Definition of CAROUSEL in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of CAROUSEL . What does CAROUSEL mean ? Information and translations of CAROUSEL in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.