verb | noun
carrycarry1 /ˈkæri/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (carries, carried, carrying) 1
LIFT AND TAKE [transitive] to take something somewhere by holding it in your hands or arms or supporting it as you move: Would you carry my suitcase for me? Five thousand people carried banners and signs in the protest march.carry something around/out/to etc. He carried the child up to bed.► see thesaurus at hold12VEHICLE/SHIP/PLANE [transitive] to take people or things from one place to another: We saw a lot of trucks carrying loads of grain. The new plane can carry 555 passengers.3PIPE/WIRE ETC. [transitive] if a pipe, wire, etc. carries something such as liquid or electricity, the liquid, etc. flows along it or on it: A single cable carries television and telephone signals.carry something down/through/across etc. Pipes carry the water across the desert.4MOVE something [transitive always + adv./prep.] if a current of water or air carries something or someone, it takes that thing or person somewhere as it moves along: Strong winds carried the poisonous gas for miles.5HAVE WITH YOU [transitive] to have something with you in your pocket, on your belt, in your bag, etc.: I don’t usually carry that much cash on me. How many teenagers carry guns or knives to school these days?6STORE [transitive] if a store carries goods, it has a supply of them for sale: Any good hardware store will carry the bolts. Discount stores carry name-brand merchandise at low prices.7NEWSPAPER/BROADCAST [transitive] if a newspaper or a television or radio broadcast carries news, a program, an advertisement, etc., it prints it or broadcasts it: The paper carried the story on the front page. The local cable station carries a broad variety of shows.8HAVE A QUALITY [transitive] to have a particular quality such as authority or confidence that makes people believe or not believe you: Laura carries an unmistakable air of authority. Greenspan’s views usually carried great weight (=had influence) with members of Congress. Matthew’s voice did not carry much conviction (=he did not seem very sure). Every treatment carries a small risk.9DISEASE [transitive] medicine to have a disease and pass it to others, or to have a gene that causes a disease: Rats carry many diseases. a test to determine if a woman carries the breast cancer gene10get/be carried away to be so excited, angry, interested, etc. that you are not really in control of what you do or say anymore, or you forget everything else: Norm tends to get carried away and talk too much.11carry insurance to have insurance SYN have: Most state employees carry some type of insurance.12carry a guarantee/warranty to be sold with a guarantee (=promise that a product you buy will be fixed without cost if it breaks within a particular time after you buy it): All products carry a 12-month guarantee.13carry something in your head/mind to remember information that you need, without writing it down: The amount of knowledge Lee carries in her head is amazing.14CRIME/PUNISHMENT [transitive] if a crime carries a particular punishment, that is the usual punishment for the crime: Murder carries a life sentence in this state.15LABEL/WRITING [transitive] if an object, container, etc. carries information such as a warning, those words are written on it: The card in his wallet carries details of his blood type.16ELECTION [transitive] social studies, politics if someone who is trying to win an election carries a state, county, etc., he or she wins the highest number of votes in that area: Reagan carried California in 1980.17SOUND/SMELL [intransitive] if a sound or smell carries to a particular place, it goes as far as that place: The sounds of laughter carried as far as the lake. Toni’s high, thin voice did not carry well (=it could not be heard very far away).18WEIGHT [transitive] to support the weight of something, especially something that is very heavy or too heavy: These beams have to carry the weight of the roof. Mike carries 300 pounds on his 6-foot 4-inch body.19BUILDING [transitive] if a pillar, wall, etc. carries something, it supports the weight of that thing: These two columns carry the whole roof.20PERSUADE [transitive] to persuade people to accept your suggestions or support you: Stephanie’s arguments carried the meeting.21CHILD [transitive] old-fashioned if a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant (=going to have a baby)22ADDING NUMBERS [transitive] to put a number into the next row to the left when you are adding numbers together: Nine and three make twelve, put down the two and carry the one.23BALL [intransitive] if a ball carries a particular distance, that is how far it travels when it is hit24carry yourself to stand and move in a particular way: It was obvious by the way they carried themselves that they were soldiers.25carry something too far/to extremes/to excess to do or say too much about something: OK, stop it – you’ve carried the joke too far.26be carried if a suggestion, proposal, etc. is carried, the people at a meeting approve it by voting: The amendment to the bill was carried unanimously (=everyone agreed to it). The motion was carried by 76 votes (=76 more people voted for it than voted against it).27carry a (heavy) load/burden to have a lot of work to do or a lot of responsibility for something: Moore carries most of the load for the team.28carry somebody (to victory/to the top etc.) to be the reason that a person or group is successful: Democrats need a message that will carry them to victory. Smith carried the team that night, scoring 35 points.29carry the day to be the person or thing that is most successful or best liked: In the end her argument carried the day. The Republicans carried the day (=won the election).30carry a tune to sing the notes of songs correctly: As long as you can carry a tune, you’re welcome to join the choir.31somebody can’t carry a tune in a bucket humorous used to say that someone is completely unable to sing the notes of any song32as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her literary as fast as possible: She ran to her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.33carry a torch for somebody to secretly love and admire someone who does not love you: I think Seth is carrying a torch for Liz.34carry the torch of something to continue to support a belief or tradition when no one else wants to: Ancient Greeks carried the torch of scientific study for many centuries.[Origin: 1300–1400 Old North French carier to take in a vehicle, from car vehicle, from Latin carrus] → see also card-carrying, carriercarry something ↔ forward phrasal verb1to move a total to the next page in order to add it to other numbers on that page2to continue something that had been started earlier: I intend to carry forward the excellent work that you all have done.3to make an amount of something such as money or vacation time available for use at a later time: How many vacation days can be carried forward to next year?carry something ↔ off phrasal verb1to do something difficult successfully: Rubens carried off several important diplomatic missions.2to win a prize: Bancroft carried off the Oscar for Best Actress.carry on phrasal verb1carry on to continue doing something SYN go on: Wilde plans to carry on and finish writing the book.carry on with something I can’t carry on with my life as though nothing has happened.2carry on something to continue something that has been started by someone else: June’s daughters will carry on the family traditions.3carry on a conversation to talk to someone: The people behind me were carrying on a conversation through the whole movie.4carry something ↔ on to take luggage with you on an airplane, rather than giving it to the airline to go with the other luggage5 spoken to behave or talk in a silly, excited, or anxious way that annoys other people: carry on about He just kept carrying on about his new car.6carry on with somebody old-fashioned to have a sexual relationship with someone, when you should notcarry something ↔ out phrasal verb1to do something that needs to be organized and planned: an attack carried out by a group of 15 rebels Teenagers carried out a survey on attitudes to drugs.2to do something that you have said you will do or that someone has told you to do: Will Congress carry out its promise to change the law?carry out instructions/an order The soldiers claimed they were only carrying out orders.carry something over phrasal verb1if something is carried over into a new set of conditions, it continues to exist and influences the new conditions: carry over into Worries at work often carry over into the home.2to make an amount of something available to be used at a later time: Only two days of vacation time can be carried over into next year.carry through phrasal verb1carry somebody through (something) to help someone to manage during an illness or a difficult period SYN see somebody through something: Troy’s sense of humor carried him through his cancer treatments.2carry something through to complete or finish something successfully, in spite of difficulties SYN see something through: It’s a good idea, and we’ll try to carry it through.carry through on something phrasal verb to completely finish doing something that you said you would do SYN follow through: They have not carried through on promised bank reforms. verb | noun
carrycarry2 noun [singular, uncountable] technical the distance a ball or bullet travels after it has been thrown, hit, or fired