carny

or car·ney

[ kahr-nee ]

/ ˈkɑr ni /

Informal.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR carny ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural car·nies.

a person employed by a carnival.

carnival (def. 1).

adjective

of or relating to carnivals: carny slang.

Origin of carny

First recorded in 1930–35; carn(ival) + -y²

Words nearby carny

carnotite, Carnot principle, Carnot refrigerator, Carnot's theorem, carnous, carny, Caro, carob, caroche, carol, Carola

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for carny

The freaks are cooking the books, and the carny world turns into a funhouse mirror of the allegedly real one.
The Most Underrated Novels I’ve Edited|Daniel Menaker|November 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A Florida native, Russell ably captures her state's wonky blend of natural beauty and carny effects.
Great Weekend Reads|The Daily Beast|February 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Some people never really adjusted to carny life—where everybody knows everything.
Charley de Milo|Laurence Mark Janifer AKA Larry M. Harris
He felt like doing a carny barker spiel, Step right up, step right up, this way to the great egress!
Makers|Cory Doctorow

It was much more like a carny haunted house trade-show floor now.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
Castle of Carny, in the parish of Moonzie, in the shire of Fife.
The Works of John Knox, Vol. 1 (of 6)|John Knox
He was an Armless Wonder, a born freak, the top of the carny ladder, with a good job wherever he cared to look for one.
Charley de Milo|Laurence Mark Janifer AKA Larry M. Harris

British Dictionary definitions for carny (1 of 2)

carny¹

carney

/ (ˈkɑːnɪ) /

verb -nies, -nying, -nied, -neys, -neying or -neyed

British informal to coax or cajole or act in a wheedling manner

Word Origin for carny

C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for carny (2 of 2)

carny²

carney or carnie