Meaning & use
carols
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“carols” is a form of “carol”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
Songs with a joyful or religious theme, especially ones sung at Christmas.
Grammar: This is the plural form; the singular is 'carol'. It is a countable noun, so you can say 'two carols' or 'a carol'.
Patterns
- sing carols
- Christmas carols
- a book of carols
Every December, the children go from house to house singing carols.
The choir practiced three traditional carols for the evening service.
We listened to carols on the radio while decorating the tree.
Word forms
| singular | carol |
|---|
Common combinations
- Christmas carols
- The family gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols.
- sing carols
- We went out to sing carols in the neighborhood on Christmas Eve.
- a carol service
- The church holds a carol service on the Sunday before Christmas.
- traditional carols
- The album features traditional carols from around Europe.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hymn
- A hymn is a religious song for worship, not necessarily connected to Christmas; carols are specifically joyful songs, often associated with Christmas.
- song
- Song is the general word for any piece of music with words; carol is a specific type of song, usually religious or festive.
Word family
Commonly confused: carols or Carol?
carols vs Carol
As a name, 'Carol' is a person's first name. The common noun 'carol' (plural 'carols') means the song. They sound the same but are different words.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'carols' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Carols' is the plural form, so it is used with plural verbs and no article: 'sang carols'. The other options use 'a' with a plural, which is incorrect; they would need the singular 'carol'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carols”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.