full of cheerfulness or gaiety; joyous in disposition or spirit.
a merry little man.
laughingly happy; mirthful; festively joyous; hilarious.
a merry time at the party.
Archaic. causing happiness; pleasant; delightful.
cheerful; jolly
very funny; hilarious
informal slightly drunk
archaic delightful
to revel; be festive
informal to disturb greatly; disrupt
See Mary.
First recorded before 900; Middle English meri(e),myrie, murie, Old English myr(i)ge, mer(i)ge “pleasant, delightful”
To be merry is to be happy, especially in a fun, festive way. Parties and celebrations are merry, and so are the fun people who attend them. This old fashioned word for “happy” is popular in December when people say, “Merry Christmas.” To be merry is to be happy, jaunty, and ready to frolic. A group of people laughing as they walk down the street is a merry gang. Anything merry is festive, often involving games, celebrations, and parties. A merry-go-round makes kids happy as it spins them around. Smiling and laughing are signs of being merry. If you go along your merry way, you walk away happily, maybe even skipping.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A draw would spark the same merry chaos.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
His group of merry men held meetups at coffee shops, beer halls and the zoo, hosted holiday hootenannies and even offered CPR classes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Don’t conflate Fama and his merry band of economists at the business school with the Chicago School of Economics, practitioners in the university’s economics department led by another Nobel laureate, Milton Friedman.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
And if you had that kind of a mother — or better, if you are that kind of a mother — the merry derangement O’Hara brought to her performances was soul-satisfying.
From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2026
On his beneficent side he was not only the god that makes men merry.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
But when the kick-off was delayed from 01:00 to 02:00, Merry said her husband wandered off for a nap.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Fellow hobbits “Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure” while a new generation seeks to unearth a “long-buried secret.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Activists had placed a beam in the water early on December 25 to partially recreate the wave, according to German media reports, and hung a banner above the water that read "Merry Christmas".
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
Appeared in the December 20, 2025, print edition as 'A Merry Memoir of Yuletide Anarchy'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Treebeard was not to be seen; but while Merry and Pippin were bathing in the basin by the arch, they heard him humming and singing, as he came up the path between the trees.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
There was no merrier illustration of the varieties of human experience than this runaway French hit, which was, like “Don Quixote,” translated into English by Smollett in 1748.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
The more the merrier is especially true during the holiday season.
From Barron's ● Dec. 15, 2025
As long as no ribs are broken, the more, the merrier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
“I think Rob welcomes that. The more the merrier for him. So that doesn’t show our hand on or foretell what’s going to happen in the future.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2022
‘It is largely on account of Balin that I have come to ask the advice of those that dwell in Rivendell. But tonight let us speak of merrier things!’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
It’s the merriest time of the year — and arguably when the resort is at its glistening, glowing best with seasonal food offerings, holiday ride makeovers and unique live entertainment options.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Actually, the orchestra men, kept like circus animals in a tent apart from the rest of us, were the merriest people at Tamiment.
From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
While each piece features rotating focal points, they all tie together with a beautiful gold scroll border, working to create the merriest tablescape of all.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2021
It was here and now it is gone, the merriest, brightest, and most thankful Christmas the world has ever known.
From Slate ● Dec. 21, 2020
Since I’d been helping out stitching the detectives’ costumes, I’d become friendly with a few of the agents, and Mr. Webster was the merriest.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.