carousing

[ kuh-rou-zing ]

noun

1. 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

1. 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 Words From

• ca·rous·ing·ly adverb
• un·ca·rous·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of carousing¹

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

Example Sentences

Packed bars with carousing revelers spilling onto clogged streets.

From New York Times

We’ll always have memories of that splendid spring afternoon, from our friends gustily singing the inappropriate but undeniably irresistible “Where I Wanna Be”—it’s a song about a man who wants to leave his longtime girlfriend because he’s not done carousing—during the reception to our fathers giving exactly the sort of touching but long-winded toasts we expected from them.

From Slate

The flamenco dancer Olga Pericet began topless, curled up on the floor like a beached mermaid or a woman recovering from a night of carousing.

From New York Times

I was in New York doing a show and perhaps going through some melancholic times and carousing too much and enjoying Broadway, but not really that happy myself.

From New York Times

MacGowan died Nov. 30 at the age of 65 after a lifetime of drinking, carousing and writing songs that fused Irish tradition with the spirit of punk.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• banquet
• barbecue
• bash
• feast
• festivity
• gala
• luncheon
• reception
• shindig