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carry is one of the 1000 most common headwords.



Plain form

Third-person singular

Past tense

Past participle

Present participle

A man carrying packages
  1. (transitive) If you carry something, you lift it up and move it to another place.
    Let me carry those bags in for you.
    We walked through the trees, picked some apples, and carried them to the water.
    He carried her out of the bathroom and dropped her onto the bed.
  2. (transitive) If a vehicle carries people or things, it moves them from one place to another.
    A plane carrying 155 people crashed into the Hudson River.
    As the ship carried her across the sea, she studied the map of Europe.
    He hired a truck to carry beds, clothes, and food.
  3. (transitive) If a path, such as a river bed, a wire, or a hose carries something somewhere, the thing travels along the path.
    It's the white plastic pipe that carries away the water when you empty the bathtub.
    One digital cable line could carry hundreds of channels of video, several phone calls and an interactive line for playing games or tapping data bases all at the same time.
    The moon has an orbit that carries it around the earth about once a month.
  4. (transitive) If moving water or air carries something, it moves it.
    The river carried the leaves under the bridge.
    Her voice was carried off by the wind.
    The smoke from the fire filled the air, carried on the breeze.
  5. (transitive) If you carry something, you usually have it with you.
    Sorry, I don't carry a watch.
    Outside the country, you must carry your passport at all time.
    He sat back down on his chair and pulled out the pack of cigarettes he carried in his shirt pocket.
  6. (transitive) If something carries a quality, it has it.
    Those ideas now carry almost no value.
    Certain foods carry with them the danger of heart disease.
    Elias's vote carried a lot of weight. (=it was important)
    This medicine carries with it the potential to help millions of people.
  7. (transitive) If the media carries some news, advertisement, or show, it prints it or puts it on TV or radio.
    The website carried a video showing policemen beating up children.
    I couldn't find a channel that carried the hockey game.
    At 4:00, we'll be carrying the president's speech live.
    TV stations are not allowed to carry beer advertisements.
  8. (transitive) If something carries some information, the information is printed on it.
    The drug now carries a warning that it should not be given to children.
    The sign carried the words: Toronto, 150 km.
  9. (transitive) If a store carries something, they have it available to buy.
    My local supermarket doesn't carry my favorite brand of ice cream.
  10. (transitive) If something unmoving carries a weight or load, it supports it, keeping it up.
    In a fire, the wall are not going to be able to carry the load and the house will collapse.
  11. (transitive) If you carry insurance, you have it in case of a loss.
    Schools are increasing the amount of insurance they carry to protect themselves.
    This American-made product carries a two-year warranty.
  12. (transitive) If you carry a disease, you can give it to other people.
    Most people who carry the virus never get sick.
    Flies carry diseases that can get passed on to people and animals.
  13. (transitive) If you get/are carried away, you lose control of yourself because you are so happy, angry, etc.
    Teens sometimes get carried away with buying stuff.
    Everyone seemed to be carried away with talk of freedom.
    I just wanted to hold you, but I got carried away.
  14. (transitive) If a crime carries a punishment, that is the punishment for committing that crime.
    Violating the law carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
  15. (intransitive) If a sound carries, it can be heard a long distance away.
    The sound of the bells carried for miles.
  16. (transitive) If you can carry a tune, you can sing the correct notes.
    He couldn't carry a tune, but he loved to sing.
  17. (transitive) If one voice or instrument in a group carries the melody, it sings or plays the melody while the others provide harmony.
    The highest voice carries the melody.
  18. (transitive) If someone or something carries the day, they win.
    Don't worry if we don't carry the day this year.
  19. (transitive) (usually passive) If a suggestion, idea, or proposal is carried or carries, it gets the most votes and wins.
    59% of the votes for approving the budget: The motion carries.
  20. (transitive) If a candidate in an election carries an area, they win in that area.
  21. (transitive) If you carry your body or yourself in a certain way, that is the way that you stand or move.
  22. (transitive) If a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant.
    He didn't know that she was carrying his child.
  23. (transitive) If you carry something too far/to extremes/to excess, you don't stop it at a reasonable time.
  24. (transitive) If you carry extra pounds/kilograms, you weigh more than you should.
  25. (transitive) If you carry a number during addition or multiplication, you add it to the column on the left.
    Seven times eight is fifty six, carry five. Seven times nine is sixty three, plus five is sixty eight. Six hundred eighty six.
  26. (transitive & intransitive) (accounting) If you carry a loss forward, you realize it in a future reporting period.
    if several unprofitable years follow, the opportunity to carry forward the loss will be gone.
  27. (transitive) (accounting) If you carry something off, you do it successfully.
    They tried, but they just weren't good enough musicians to carry it off.
  28. (intransitive) If you carry on, you continue doing what you were doing.
    We want to carry on doing this for the next five years.
    I'm not sure that was, but let's just carry on as usual.
    She's carrying on long conversations with people who aren't there.
    Come on, lets carry on with the game.
    She carried on down the road without stopping until he came to the edge of the village.
  29. (intransitive) If you carry on about something, you talk about it in an annoying way.
    Cindi was always carrying on about how cute her dog was.
  30. (intransitive) If you carry out something requiring planning, you do it.
    They weren't able to carry out the attack because of the weather.
  31. (intransitive) If something carries or is carried over into a new situation, it continues to happen or be useful in the new situation.
    Was there anything you learned from that experience that you have carried over into your current job?
  32. (transitive) If something carries you through, it helps you get to the end.
    Their love of the game carried them through the difficult times.
  33. (transitive) If you carry something through, you complete it.
    Once you have an idea, you've got to carry it through all the way.



Related words[change]




A carry
The fireman's carry
  1. (countable) (sports) A carry is a play in American football where a player holds the ball and runs with it.
    No player in NFL history has ever had that many carries.
  2. (uncountable) (sports) The carry is the distance a ball, arrow, bullet, etc. travels.
    The fairway is 15 yards wide and the carry was 370.
  3. (countable) A carry is a way of moving somebody from one place to another.
    He picked her up and put her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry,
    Lifesavers must be able to tow a person of their own weight ten yards by each of the following methods: (a) head carry, using two arms and swimming on back; (b) under-arm carry, using two hands and swimming on back; (c) cross-chest carry, using one arm and side stroke.