n.
Pronunciation: ' ker- ē - ə r, ' ka-r ē -
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : one that carries : BEARER , MESSENGER
2 a : an individual or organization engaged in transporting passengers or goods for hire b : a transportation line carrying mail between post offices c : a postal employee who delivers or collects mail d : one that delivers newspapers e : an entity (as a hole or an electron) capable of carrying an electric charge
3 a : a container for carrying b : a device or machine that carries : CONVEYOR
4 : AIRCRAFT CARRIER
5 a : a bearer and transmitter of a causative agent of an infectious disease especially : one who carries the causative agent of a disease systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it b : an individual (as one heterozygous for a recessive trait) having a specified gene that is not expressed or only weakly expressed in its phenotype
6 a : a usually inactive accessory substance : VEHICLE <a carrier for a drug or an insecticide> b : a substance (as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
7 a : an electromagnetic wave or alternating current whose modulations are used as communications signals (as in radio, telephonic, or telegraphic transmissions) b : a telecommunication company
8 : an organization acting as an insurer