carry
/ˈkari
/verb (carries, carrying, carried) [with object]
1Support and move (someone or something) from one place to another: medics were carrying a wounded man on a stretcher...
- The two wounded demonstrators were carried by people near them to nearby houses.
- I have a false leg now but it takes me a while to move around and carrying things is difficult.
- Sure enough, there was a white moving van and people carrying boxes to the house.
Synonyms
convey, transfer, move, take, bring, bear, shift, switch, fetch, transport
informal cart, lug, hump, schlep, tote
1.1Transport, conduct or transmit: the train service carries 20,000 passengers daily nerves carry visual information from the eyes...
- With its low-slung frame, the truck can be carried aboard military transport planes and deployed anywhere in the world.
- Tragedy struck when the transport ship carrying the 33 children crashed.
- Several lorries would be required to carry the mail which is now carried in one train.
Synonyms
transport, convey, transmit, move, handle
transmit, conduct, pass on, relay, communicate, convey, impart, bear, dispatch, beam;
disseminate, spread, circulate, diffuse
1.2Have on one’s person: he was killed for the money he was carrying figurative she had carried the secret all her life...
- As if that's not enough to bring the whole party down, one of the politicians also carries a terrible medical secret.
- They are stubborn enough to carry their grudges a long time.
- The deeply spiritual actress makes no secret of the fact that wherever she goes she carries a small, gold amulet - a gift from her Guru in Malaysia and a potent symbol of his protection.
1.3Be infected with (a disease) and liable to transmit it to others: ticks can carry a nasty disease which affects humans...
- The problem also has serious implications for all who use the Scottish hills, including walkers and climbers, since some ticks carry the dangerous Lyme disease.
- Scientists say that one in every three ticks carries Lyme disease, so a decrease in tick numbers could have a significant effect on reducing the illness in humans.
- One of every five people carry a sexually transmitted disease in the United States.
2Support the weight of: the bridge is capable of carrying even the heaviest loads...
- It has long meant a story told in a hundred words: a structure as light and strong as a balloon that can carry its own weight a thousand times over.
- The entire body weight is thus carried by the thumbs and the big toe, even as the bones of the rest of the body are cracking with pain.
- For those with osteo-arthiritis, she suggests swimming and water exercises, because in the water one does not have to carry one's body weight.
Synonyms
support, sustain, stand, prop up, shore up, bolster, underpin, buttress
2.1Be pregnant with: she was carrying twins...
- But first lets get an update on our baby twins who were carried by a surrogate.
- I was carrying a bigger baby than in my previous pregnancies.
- He is a good friend of the couple and is the father of the twins the woman is carrying by in vitro fertilization.
Synonyms
be pregnant with, bear, expect
technical be gravid with
3 [no object] (Of a sound, ball, missile, etc.) reach a specified point: his voice carried clearly across the room the ball carried to second slip...
- The sound of voices carried to them from the eastern side of the island.
- In the silence and still air sound carries surprisingly clearly.
- He could hear the sound of voices carrying from the inside of the room.
Synonyms
be audible, travel, reach, be transmitted
3.1 [with object] (Of a gun or similar weapon) propel (a missile) to a specified distance.
3.2 [with object] Take or develop (an idea or activity) to a specified point: he carried the criticism much further...
- His most influential interpreter carried his ideas further, even to the justification of regicide.
- Do you want this development to be carried forward in a people-friendly and environmentally sound manner?
- The first person to really carry forward his ideas was Philippe de la Hire.
4Assume or accept (responsibility or blame): they must carry management responsibility for the mess they have got the company into...
- Well the newspaper must carry some responsibility here.
- No faith can be defined by its fringes, but every faith must carry some responsibility for its extremists.
- The Government must carry the blame for big council tax increases.
Synonyms
undertake, accept, assume, bear, shoulder, support, sustain;
take on, take up, take on oneself;
manage, handle, deal with, get to grips with, turn one's hand to
4.1Be responsible for the effectiveness of: they relied on dialogue to carry the plot...
- Unfortunately the mystery is not suspenseful or for that matter interesting enough to carry the plot on it's own.
- The fans help carry the game.
- Unfortunately none of the other characters were funny enough to carry the show.
5 (carry oneself) Stand and move in a specified way: she carried herself straight and with assurance...
- Never arrogant or boastful, they stand their ground and carry themselves with authority.
- When we lose our humor, our whole demeanor changes - our tone of voice, how we move and carry ourselves, our facial expressions.
- Their attractiveness lies not so much in their appearance as in the way they carry themselves and behave.
Synonyms
conduct, bear, hold;
act, behave, perform, acquit
rare comport, deport
6Have as a feature or consequence: being a combat sport, karate carries with it the risk of injury each bike carries a ten-year guarantee...
- The former lord chancellor notes that the bill carries with it the worst of unintended consequences.
- Thus, the experience of being rejected by peers carries with it a set of experiences and consequences that contribute to subsequent conduct problems.
- The process carries with it ethical implications - for example, loss of researchers' time and impairments in the quality of data collected.
Synonyms
entail, involve, lead to, result in, occasion, have as a consequence, have;
require, demand
6.1(Of a newspaper or a television or radio station) publish or broadcast: the paper carried a detailed account of the current crisis...
- The new deal ensures that commentary from every league and cup match can be carried by the station.
- I'll see whether any of the mainstream newspapers have carried a more detailed report.
- Each of the five stations will carry BBC World Service's news, science, music and cultural programmes.
Synonyms
publish, print, communicate, give, release, distribute, spread, disseminate;
broadcast, transmit
6.2(Of a shop) keep a regular stock of (goods for sale): 550 off-licences carry the basic range...
- Online bridal stores also carry the latest styles with the most competitive and reasonable prices.
- The shop carries four exclusive cosmetic ranges.
- All of these stores carry everything you could need in organic produce and groceries.
Synonyms
sell, stock, keep, keep in stock, offer, have for sale, have, retail, market, supply, trade in, deal in, traffic in, peddle, hawk
6.3Be known or marked by: the product does not carry the swallow symbol...
- But for any product carrying the Perry's brand name, the mix is vat pasteurized.
- The trains, which all carry the name Thameslink Cityflier, were expected to offer a full service by today.
- It was introduced because we identified a consumer need for a low-carbohydrate and low calorie beer that still has a taste refined enough to carry the Michelob family name.
Synonyms
display, bear, exhibit, show, present, set forth, be marked with, have
7Approve (a proposed measure) by a majority of votes: the resolution was carried by a two-to-one majority...
- The decision was bitterly controversial and was carried by Republican Party majorities alone.
- The substantive motion was then voted on, and carried by a massive majority.
- If member states had agreed that the treaty could be carried by a majority vote, that would be one thing.
Synonyms
approve, vote for, accept, endorse, ratify, authorize, mandate, support, back, uphold;
agree to, consent to, assent to, acquiesce in, concur in, accede to, give one's blessing to, bless, give one's seal/stamp of approval to, rubber-stamp, say yes to
informal give the go-ahead to, give the green light to, give the OK to, OK, give the thumbs up to, give the nod to, buy
7.1Persuade (others) to support one’s policy: he could not carry the cabinet...
- No candidate has won the popular vote without carrying Roman Catholics.
- It is impossible to conjecture what might have happened, had the Governor-General failed to carry the electorate with him at this crisis.
- He was doing everything right. Yet he lost, failing even to carry the voters who elected him twice as mayor.
Synonyms
win over, sway, prevail on, convince, persuade, influence;
affect, have an effect on, have an impact on, impact on, motivate, stimulate, drive, touch, reach
7.2North American Gain (a state or district) in an election.It won't help the president carry the state in the general election....
- He was the first nonincumbent Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since 1928.
- A lot of people don't believe your candidate can win this election without carrying Florida.
8Transfer (a figure) to an adjacent column during an arithmetical operation (e.g. when a column of digit adds up to more than ten).If ever you get a sum bigger than 10, then write down the units digit of the sum and remember to carry anything over into your next pair to add....
- Then, like a line of dominoes, the nines turn into zeros as we carry one back and back.
- Write down the last digit and carry the other digit, if any, working right-to-left.
noun (plural carries) [usually in singular]
1An act of carrying something from one place to another: we did a carry of equipment from the camp...
- ‘You're kidding,’ I said, my arms still aching from the short carry from the cab to this desk.
- We are fully moved in to our 11,000-foot camp and just did a back carry down to 10.3 where we put that cache in a few days back.
- After the load carry, the group returned to Opentac ABC.
1.1 American Football An act of running or rushing with the ball.And the running game struggled again as the two running backs averaged 2.8 yards a carry....
- He led the NFL with 403 carries last year, a pace that will eventually burn him out.
- He is a confident individual that only fumbled the ball three times over 233 carries in 2001.
1.2 [mass noun] North American The practice of keeping a gun on one’s person: this pistol is the right choice for on-duty or off-duty carry...
- It soon passed the demanding standards to allow NYPD to approve it for off duty carry.
- It is a good size for on duty carry.
- I have thought that it is a very nice looking gun, and it has features I am looking for in a concealed carry weapon.
1.3North American historical A place between navigable waters over which boats or supplies had to be carried.
1.4The transfer of a figure into an adjacent column (or the equivalent part of a computer memory) during an arithmetical operation.
2The range of a gun or similar weapon.
2.1 Golf The distance a ball travels before reaching the ground.Now, manufacturers believe that high flight with low spin provides the most carry and the most overall distance....
- But with vertical-seam hits, the carry went up to almost 259 yards, an increase of nearly six yards.
- My longest drive registered a carry of 258 yards and had rolled another 25.
3 Finance The maintenance of an investment position in a securities market, especially with regard to the costs or profits accruing: if other short-term interest rates are higher than the current yield, the bond is said to involve a negative carry...
- Once there was a threat that the carry was going to disappear, everything got pummeled, including gold.
- If financing costs rise, or if the five-year note goes down in price, the carry can be wiped out.
- Only when, and if the collapse of the carry transpires will the curve bears be vindicated.
Phrases
carry all before one
carry one's bat
carry the can
carry conviction
carry the day
carry weight
Phrasal verbs
be/get carried away
carry something away
carry something forward
carry someone/thing off
carry something off
carry on
carry something on
carry something out
carry over
carry something over
carry something through
Origin
Late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French and Old Northern French carier, based on Latin carrus 'wheeled vehicle'.
car from Late Middle English:
The earliest recorded uses of car, dating probably from the 14th century, referred to wheeled vehicles such as carts or wagons. The word came into English from Old French carre, based on Latin carrus ‘two-wheeled vehicle’, the source of words such as career, cargo (mid 17th century), carriage (Late Middle English), carry (Late Middle English), charge (Middle English), and chariot (Late Middle English). From the 16th to the 19th centuries car was mainly used in poetic or literary contexts to suggest a sense of splendour and solemnity. Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) used it to describe the funeral carriage bearing the body of the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852) at his state funeral: ‘And a reverent people behold / The towering car, the sable steeds’ (‘Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington’, 1852). The first self-propelled road vehicle was a steam-driven carriage designed and built in France in 1769, but such vehicles were not called cars until the 1890s.