carry

1 verb carried, carrying

1 LIFT AND TAKE (T) to take something somewhere in your hands or arms, on your back etc: A porter helped me carry my luggage. | Let me carry that for you. | carry sth around/out/to etc: I'm not carrying it around all day!

-see bring

2 VEHICLE/SHIP/PLANE (T) to take people or things from one place to another: carry sth to/down/away etc: The ship was carrying oil from Kuwait to Japan. | carry sb/sth: a coach carrying 44 American tourists

3 HOW STH IS MOVED (T) if a pipe, river, wire etc carries something such as liquid or electricity, the liquid etc flows along it: carry sth along/through/across etc: Pipes carry the water across the desert. | Soil from the river banks is carried down towards the sea. | carry sth: Two lines are dedicated to carrying teletext data. | be carried out to sea/downstream etc (=be taken somewhere by a current of water)

4 DISEASE (T) if a person, animal, or insect carries a disease the disease is spread by them: Brown rats carried the plague. | Many serious diseases are carried by insects.

5 carry sth in your head/mind to remember information that you need, without writing it down: He was required to carry a detailed map of the airport in his head.

6 HAVE WITH YOU (T) to take money, a weapon, or something that you need, with you in your pocket, on your belt, in your bag etc: I don't usually carry that much cash on me. | carry a gun/knife etc: The police here don't carry guns. | carry arms (=carry weapons): a society where men carried arms as a matter of course

7 SHOP (T) if a shop carries goods, it has a supply of them for sale: carry a range/selection: Selfridges carries a good range of sports equipment. | I'm afraid we don't carry that line any more.

8 be carrying too much weight/extra pounds etc to weigh too much: He's carrying at least ten kilos too many around.

9 BUILDING (T) if a pillar, wall etc carries something, it supports the weight of that thing: These two columns carry the whole roof.

10 be/get carried away to be so excited, angry, interested etc that you are no longer really in control of what you do or say, or you forget everything else: Sorry I shouted - I get a little carried away at times! | We got carried away by the beauty of the music.

11 carry yourself well/stiffly etc to stand and move in a particular way: He carried himself upright, like the old soldier he was.

12 CHILD (T) old-fashioned if a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant (=going to have a baby)

13 NEWSPAPER/BROADCAST (T) if a newspaper or a television or radio broadcast carries a piece of news, an advertisement etc, it prints it or broadcasts it: The trade press carried details of the new laws.

14 LABEL/WRITING (T) if an object, container etc carries a warning, information etc it is written on it: These new perfumes carry an `exclusive' tag. | a card carrying details of your blood group

15 carry insurance/a guarantee etc to have insurance etc: All our products carry a 12 month guarantee.

16 HAVE A QUALITY (T) to have a particular quality such as authority or confidence that makes you believe or not believe someone: Her manner carried an unmistakable air of authority. | carry conviction (=to seem very sure about something): Matthew's voice did not carry much conviction. | carry weight (=to have some influence over someone): Her views carry a lot of weight with the committee.

17 CRIME (T) if a crime carries a particular punishment, that is the usual punishment for the crime: Rape carries the death penalty here. | a serious crime which carries a long jail sentence

18 carry a (heavy) load/burden to have a lot of work to do or a lot of responsibility for something: Each team member is expected to carry a fair share of the workload

19 USELESS PERSON (T) if you carry someone who is not doing as much as they should, you manage without the work they should be doing, or the money they should be earning: The team simply can't afford to carry anyone.

20 carry sth too far/to extremes/to excess to do or say too much about something: Don't you think you're carrying discipline a bit too far? They're only children!

21 carry sb to victory/to the top etc to be the reason that a person or group is successful: It's that extra enthusiasm that will carry you to the top.

22 PERSUADE (T) if someone carries a group of people, they persuade those people to support them: Her tearful pleas carried the meeting.

23 carry the day to persuade a group of people to support you: His appeal to common sense was what finally carried the day.

24 as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her as fast as possible: She ran to her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.

25 carry all/everything before you literary to be completely successful in a struggle against other people

26 VOTE be carried if a suggestion, proposal etc is carried, most of the people at an official meeting vote for it and it is accepted: The amendment to the bill was carried unanimously. (=everyone agreed to it) | be carried by 20 votes/50 votes etc (=20, 50 etc more people voted for something than voted against it): the motion to ban the sale of guns was carried by 76 votes. | declare sth carried (=to state officially that something has been accepted): I declare the resolution carried.

27 (I) SOUND/SMELL 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.

28 carry one/two/three etc to put a number into the next row to the left when you are adding numbers together: Nine and three make twelve, put down two and carry one.

29 BALL (I) if the ball carries a particular distance in golf, cricket (2) etc, that is how far it travels when it is hit

30 carry a torch for sb to be in love with someone who does not love you

31 carry the can (for sb/sth) BrE informal to be blamed or punished for something that is someone else's fault as well as your own: Why am I always left to carry the can?

32 carry a tune to sing correctly

-see also: card-carrying, carrier, cash and carry, fetch and carry fetch (4) carry sth forward phrasal verb (T)

1 to move a total to the next page for adding to other numbers

2 to make an amount of something such as money or holiday time available for use at a later time

carry sb/sth off phrasal verb (T)

1 to do something difficult successfully: It's a demanding role, but I'm sure she'll be able to carry it off.

2 to win a prize: Jackie carried off most of the awards that evening.

carry on phrasal verb

1 (intransitive, transitive carry on something) especially BrE to continue doing something: Don't stop - carry on, everyone! | carry on doing sth: We all carried on singing as if nothing odd was happening. | carry on with sth: Please carry on with your work. | carry on as normal/as usual/as you are/regardless: I think we should just carry on as we are for now.

2 (I) to continue moving: We carried on down the freeway for a while. | Carry straight on until you get to the traffic lights.

3 (transitive carry on something) to continue something that has been started by someone else: He is relying on his son to carry on the family business. | When she left I carried on her research.

4 (transitive carry on something) to do something for a period of time: Negotiations were being carried on, in spite of the fighting. | carry on a conversation: They carried on a curious conversation, never looking at each other.

5 (I) spoken to behave in a silly, excited, or anxious way: Stop carrying on, you two! | Anyone would think they owned the business, the way they carry on!

6 (I) old-fashioned to have a sexual relationship with someone, when you should not: she's been carrying on with the milkman, I'm certain of it.

carry sth out phrasal verb (T)

1 to do something that needs to be organized and planned: They are carrying out urgent repairs. | A survey is now being carried out nationwide. | It won't be an easy plan to carry out.

2 carry out a promise/a threat/an intention/an order etc to do something that you have said you will do or that someone has asked you to do: We carried out her instructions to the letter.

carry sth over phrasal verb (T)

1 if something is carried over into a new set of conditions, it continues to exist when conditions change: aspects of the dream which are carried over into wakefulness

2 to carry something forward: Holiday time can be carried over into next year.

carry through phrasal verb (T)

1 (carry something through) to complete or finish something successfully, in spite of difficulties: I'm determined to carry this through.

2 carry sb through (sth) to help someone to manage during an illness or a difficult period: Her confidence carried her through.

2 noun (C, U) technical the distance a ball or bullet travels after it has been thrown, hit or fired