carry

UK/ˈkæɹ.i/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈkaɹ.ɪj/

carry verb: to lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.

Image: Zaheed Sarwer Khan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

carry (third-person singular simple present carries, present participle carrying, simple past and past participle carried)

(transitive) To lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.
- "By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."1900, L. Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St....1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
(transitive) To notionally transfer from one place (such as a country, book, or column) to another.
- to carry the war from Greece into Asia
- to carry an account to the ledger
(transitive) To convey by extension or continuance; to extend.
- The builders are going to carry the chimney through the roof.
- They would have carried the road ten miles further, but ran out of materials.
(archaic, transitive) To move; to convey using force

Synonyms:

impel, conduct
(transitive) To lead or guide.
- Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet.c. 1596-1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, act 5, scene 5
- And he carried away all his cattle […] for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 31:18
(transitive) To stock or supply (something); to have in store.
- The corner drugstore doesn’t carry his favorite brand of aspirin.
Synonyms:

have, keep, stock, supply
(transitive) To adopt (something); take (something) over.
- I think I can carry Smith’s work while she is out.
Synonyms:

adopt, take on, take over
(transitive) To adopt or resolve on, especially in a deliberative assembly
- The court carries that motion.
(transitive) In an addition, to transfer the quantity in excess of what is countable in the units in a column to the column immediately to the left in order to be added there.
- Five and nine are fourteen; carry the one to the tens place.
(transitive) To have, hold, possess or maintain (something).
- Always carry sufficient insurance to protect against a loss.
Synonyms:

have, maintain
(intransitive) To be transmitted; to travel.
- The sound of the bells carried for miles on the wind.
- It might seem easy to hit the head of a barrel at that distance, but either the lads were not expert enough or else the snowballs, being of irregular shapes and rather light, did not carry well. Whatever the cause, the fact remained that the barrel received only a few scattering shots and these on...1912, Stratemeyer Syndicate, chapter 1, in Baseball Joe on the School Nine
Synonyms:

be transmit, travel
(slang, transitive) To insult, to diss.

Show 19 more meaningsShow fewer meanings

(transitive) To capture a ship by coming alongside and boarding.
(transitive) To transport (the ball) whilst maintaining possession.
- Nani collected the ball on the halfway line, drifted past Bryan Ruiz, and carried the ball unchallenged 50 yards down the left before picking out Welbeck for a crisp finish from seven yards.2011 December 21, Tom Rostance, “Fulham 0-5 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport
(intransitive) For the ball, having been hit in the air, to reach a fielder without touching the ground (whether or not the fielder catches it).
(transitive) To have on one’s person.
- She always carries a purse.
- Marsupials carry their young in a pouch
(intransitive) To do the job of a caddy.
- I always carry for Mr. Pendergast.
To be pregnant (with).
- The doctor said she’s carrying twins.
To have propulsive power; to propel.
- A gun or mortar carries well.
To hold the head; said of a horse.
- to carry well, i.e. to hold the head high, with arching neck
To have earth or frost stick to the feet when running, as a hare.
- The frost[…]caused the fallows and seeds to ‘carry’ a good deal, and they could only hunt very slowly.1892, […] Field […]
To bear or uphold successfully, especially through conflict, for example a leader or principle
- the carrying of our main point1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation
- McCloughlin […] makes for the kind of fantasy girl you don't forget when the film is over. Still, she alone is not interesting enough to carry the piece.1986 February 1, Sarah Schulman, “Lesbian Films: Still Not Enough”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 28, page 9
To succeed in (e.g. a contest); to succeed in; to win.
- The Tories carried the election.
- The greater part carries it.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
(obsolete) To get possession of by force; to capture.
- The Town [of Bulloign] was both well fortified, and well manned; yet it was distressed, and ready for an Assault: which if it had been given (as was thought) would have cost much blood; but yet the Town would have been carried in the end.1622, Francis Bacon, History of the Reign of King Henry VII, page 63; republished as Francis Bacon, Francis Godwin, The History of the Reigns of Henry the Seventh, Henry the Eighth, Edward the Sixth...
- But the gallant D’Oyley, landing at the head of his well disciplined band, immediately attacked the Spaniards in their intrenchments, carried the principal fortress by a vigorous assault, destroyed one half of Arnaldo’s forces, and compelled him to return to Cuba with the remainder […]1803, John Browne Cutting, A Succinct History of Jamaica; published in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, volume 1, London: Longman and Rees, 1803, page xxxvii
To contain; to comprise; have a particular aspect; to show or exhibit
- Things of little value carry great importance.2014, Gregg Olsen, Rebecca Morris, If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of her Children
- It carries too great an imputation of ignorance.1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 4, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 16
(reflexive) To bear (oneself); to behave or conduct.
- He carried himself so insolently in the house, and out of the house, to all persons, that he became odious.1702-1704, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, The History of the Rebellion
To bear the charges or burden of holding or having, as stocks, merchandise, etc., from one time to another.
- to carry a life insurance
- A merchant is carrying a large stock.
(intransitive) To have a weapon on one's person; to be armed.
- Nobody looked like they were carrying, other than those who had knives strapped to their belts, although with Alaska's new concealed-carry permit, available to anyone who trundled themselves down to the local police station to take the class, someone in this crowd could have a rocket launcher...2001, Dana Stabenow, The Singing of the Dead, →ISBN, page 72
(transitive or, rarely, intransitive) To be disproportionately responsible for a team's success or for counteracting teammates' underperformance.
- Despite zero goals and zero assists, she still stands out for carrying her team's defense.
- The other outfielders had no hustle, but fortunately the centerfielder carried them.
(Southern US) To physically transport (in the general sense, not necessarily by lifting)
- Will you carry me to town?
(Canada, US) To bear a firearm, such as a gun.
- A holster can help you carry in confidence, knowing that your weapon is secure and close at hand.

Noun

carry (plural carries)

A manner of transporting or lifting something; the grip or position in which something is carried.
- Adjust your carry from time to time so that you don’t tire too quickly.
- When he and his Cincinnati Bengal playmates were done with the AFC’s best defense, that of the New York-New Jersey Jets, he had done Supermannish damage — 30 carries, 139 yards and two TDs — as the Bengals won, 36-19.1988 October 10, Gary Nuhn, “Bengals put Jets, ghosts of ’87 to rest”, in Dayton Daily News, volume 112, number 31, Dayton, Ohio, page 1-B
A tract of land over which boats or goods are carried between two bodies of navigable water; a portage.
- Undrowned, unducked, as safe from the perils of the broad lake as we had come out of the defiles of the rapids, we landed at the carry below the dam at the lake’s outlet.1862, The Atlantic Monthly, volume 10, page 533
The bit or digit that is carried in an addition operation.
- On paper, simply add the carry to the next addition; that is, $B2 + $9C + 1. That’s fine for paper, but how is it done by computer?1988, Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor, page 45
The benefit or cost of owning an asset over time.
- The carry on this trade is 25 basis points per annum.
The distance travelled by the ball when struck, until it hits the ground.
Carried interest.
(UK, dialectal) The sky; cloud-drift.
(especially, slang) Something or someone regarded as disproportionately responsible for the success of a playthrough, match, round, etc.
- Near-synonym: MVP
Synonyms:

MVP

Proper noun capitalized: Carry

Carry (plural Carrys)

A surname.

carry meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

carry in Hindi

to transport by lifting: ले जाना le jānā, ढोना ḍhonā

carry in Tamil

கருவுற்றிரு, கொண்டு செல், மேற்செல் இலக்கம், வீச்செல்லை, வேக எல்லை, வேட்டெஃகங்களின் குண்டு பாயுந் தொலை

carry in Marathi

to carry, take: नेणे neṇe
to carry: वाहणे vāhṇe

carry in Urdu

to transport by lifting: ڈھونا ḍhonā

More languagesFewer languages

carry in Bengali: বহন, বহন করা, টানা, বহিয়া লইয়া যাওয়া
carry in Telugu: మోసుకెళ్లడం, మోసుకెళ్తూ, తీసుకువెళ్లడానికి
carry in Malayalam: ഏലുക ēluka, കരുതുക karutuka
carry in Kannada: ಮೋರು, ಹೊರು, ಒಯ್, ಒಯಿ
carry in Gujarati: વહન, વહન કરવું
carry in Odia: ବହିବା bahibā
carry in Sanskrit: धरति dharati, वहति vahati
carry in Assamese: কঢ়িয়া korhia
carry in Nepali: लैजानु laijānu, लिएर जानु liera jānu, बोक्नु boknu
carry in Tagalog: dalhin, dala, magdala, laktain
carry in Arabic: حَمَلَ ḥamala
carry in Malay: bawa
carry in Persian: بردن bordan
carry in Thai: ถือ tʉ̌ʉ, ขน kǒn, พกพา pók paa, ทด tót
carry in Vietnamese: mang
carry in Myanmar: သယ် sai

Examples of carry in a sentence

Passion and revenge will carry them too far.1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:
It might seem easy to hit the head of a barrel at that distance, but either the lads were not expert enough or else the snowballs, being of irregular shapes and rather light, did not carry well.1912, Stratemeyer Syndicate, chapter 1, in Baseball Joe on the School Nine:
Men that I knew around Wapatomac didn't wear high, shiny plug hats, nor yeller spring overcoats, nor carry canes with ivory heads as big as a catboat's anchor, as you might say.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter X, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

All 40 example sentences with carry

Synonyms of carry

19 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

borrow

All synonyms and antonyms of carry

Forms of carry

Verb
third-person singular present	carries
present participle	carrying
past participle	carried
past	carried
Noun
plural	carries
Proper noun
plural	Carrys

Past tense of carry: carried

Plural of carry: carries

Origin of carry

From Middle English carien, from Anglo-Norman carier (modern French charrier); from a derivative of Latin carrus (“four-wheeled baggage wagon”), ultimately of Gaulish origin. Compare also Middle English cairen (“to go, bring carry”), whence Modern English cair, with which it was confused.

Words formed from carry

Phrases with carry

26 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with carry

5 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about carry

What does carry mean?: Carry means to lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.
What is carry in Hindi?: Carry in Hindi is ले जाना (le jānā), ढोना (ḍhonā). See Carry meaning in Hindi.
How do you use carry in a sentence?: Passion and revenge will carry them too far.
What part of speech is carry?: Carry can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce carry?: Carry is pronounced /ˈkæɹ.i/ (UK).
What is the past tense of carry?: The past tense of carry is carried.

Words near carry in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ne-carry.ogg.

Cite this entry: “carry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/carry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.