Definition of "carnival" in English

noun

1. Any of a number of festivals held just before the beginning of Lent.

   • Carnival of Brazil
   • Venice Carnival

2. A festive occasion marked by parades and sometimes special foods and other entertainment.

3. (US) A traveling amusement park, called a funfair in British English.

   • We all got to ride the merry-go-round when they brought their carnival to town.
   • When the carnival came to town, every one wanted some cotton candy.

4. (sociology) A context in which transgression or inversion of the social order is given temporary license. Derived from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin.

5. (figurative) A gaudily chaotic situation.

   • a carnival of idiocy

verb

1. (informal, rare) To participate in a carnival.

2. (literary) To move about playfully or wildly.