Word.ws English Dictionary

carry on

US/ˈkæɹi ˈɑn/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Scotland/ˈkaɾe ˈɔn/

carry on verb: to continue or proceed as before. Also the alternative spelling of carry-on.

Verb (1)

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

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To continue or proceed as before.
    • I’ll be gone for a few days, but I hope you will carry on in my absence.
  2. (idiomatic, transitive) To continue, maintain or pursue (an activity or enterprise).
    • to carry on commerce in a market
    • Carry on the good work.
  3. (idiomatic, intransitive) To persist, persevere.
    • Near-synonyms: keep on, hang in, hang on, keep on keeping on
    • keep calm and carry on
  4. (idiomatic, intransitive) To talk continuously or prolongedly (about something), often in an excessively excited way.
    • Near-synonym: go on
    • He’s always carrying on about his stupid aquarium.
    Synonyms:
    go on
  5. (idiomatic, intransitive) To act or behave; especially, to misbehave so as to attract attention; to make a fuss; to behave ostentatiously.
    • I really wish you wouldn't carry on like that in public!
    • I could hear some protestors hollering, but I wasn't close enough to make out what was happening. What were they carrying on about?
  6. (idiomatic, intransitive) To have an illicit sexual or flirtatious relationship.
    • I thought he was my friend, but all the time he was carrying on with my wife!

Verb (2)

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

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive, transitive) To take baggage or luggage onto an airplane, rather than check it.
    • You may only carry on items that are smaller than a certain size.
    • You may carry them on if they fit within the limits.

Also used as

carry on is also the alternative spelling of carry-on.

carry on meaning in Persian

carry on in Persian

to continue or proceed as before
ادامه دادن edâme dâdan

Synonyms of carry on

Forms of carry on

Verb
third-person singular presentcarries on
present participlecarrying on
past participlecarried on
pastcarried on
Noun
pluralcarry ons

Origin of carry on

Equivalent to carry onward.

Equivalent to carry onto.

Words formed from carry on

Questions about carry on

What does carry on mean?
Carry on means to continue or proceed as before.
What is carry on in Persian?
Carry on in Persian is ادامه دادن (edâme dâdan). See Carry on meaning in Persian.
What part of speech is carry on?
Carry on is a verb.
How do you pronounce carry on?
Carry on is pronounced /ˈkæɹi ˈɑn/ (US).
What is the past tense of carry on?
The past tense of carry on is carried on.

Words near carry on in the dictionary

  1. carry everything before one
  2. carry forward
  3. carry me out
  4. carry me out and bury me decently
  5. carry off
  6. carry on
  7. carry on like a pork chop
  8. carry one's heart on one's sleeve
  9. carry one's heart upon one's sleeve
  10. carry one's own hide to market
  11. carry one's own weight

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: carry on (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

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

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