I. ˈkarē, -i also -er- verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English carien, from Old North French carier to transport in a vehicle, from car vehicle, from Latin carrus — more at car
transitive verb
1. : to move while supporting (as in a vehicle or in one's hands or arms) : move an appreciable distance without dragging : sustain as a burden or load and bring along to another place
gas, oil, water, and food [are] available at desert hamlets, but extra supplies should be carried — American Guide Series: California
her legs refused to carry her further — Ellen Glasgow
2. : convey
carry the news
carry a message
: take
carried his complaint to the president
3. chiefly dialect : conduct , escort , lead , guide
he carried her to the party
carry the cow through the gate
4. : to lead along or influence by mental or emotional appeal : move , sway
carry an audience with one
5. : to get possession or control of (as in a contest or by effort or force) : win , capture
carry a town by storm
carry off the prize
6. : to transfer from one place (as a book or column) to another
carry an account to the ledger
carry a number in adding
7. : channel , conduct : contain and direct the course of
the canal carries the water
the drain carries sewage
8.
a. : to hold, wear, or have upon one's person
he carries a watch
b. : to be burdened or ladened with : bear upon or within one
carry an unborn child
9. : to hold or contain without apparent effort or discomposure
he knows how to carry his liquor
10. : to have as a mark, attribute, or property
carry a scar
: imply , involve
the crime carried a heavy penalty
11. : to hold (the body or some part of it) as if well-supported
he carries his head high
12. : to behave (oneself) in a specified manner : demean
carry himself proudly
13. : to sustain the weight or burden of : bear
pillars carry an arch
14. : to bear as a crop : support , maintain
carry livestock
— usually used of land
15.
a. : to sing with reasonable correctness of pitch
he can carry a tune
b. : sing , play
only two men to carry the violins
he carried the tenor
16.
a. : to keep in stock : maintain on hand for sale
a department store carries hardware
b. : to have or maintain on a list or record
carry a person on a payroll
17. : to maintain and cause to continue through financial support or personal effort
he has carried the magazine single-handedly
18. : to extend, prolong, or continue in space, time, or degree
carry the chimney through the roof
carry the war into Africa
carry a principle too far
19.
a. : to gain victory for (a principle or a candidate) ; especially : to secure the adoption or passage of (a motion or bill)
b. : to succeed in (an election) : win a majority of votes in (as a legislative body or a state)
the bill carried the Senate
20. archaic : manage , conduct , prosecute
21. : publish
newspapers carry weather reports
: broadcast
the committee's proceedings were carried on a network
22.
a. : to bear the charges (as interest or insurance) of holding or having (as stocks or merchandise) from one time to another
a packing house carries meat for future export
b.
(1) : to keep on one's books as a debtor : await payment by
a merchant carries a customer
(2) : to keep on one's books as a debt
carry an account
c. : to hold (issues of new securities) in anticipation of a rise in price
23. hunting
a. : to keep and follow
the dog could not carry the scent
b. : support
this land will carry a scent
24. : to hold (the staff of a color or a guidon) at the carry
25. : to hoist and maintain (a sail) in use
the ship carried too much sail
26. : to cover (a distance) or pass (an object) at a single stroke in golf
his drive carried the bunker
27.
a. : to propel and control (a puck) along the playing surface with a hockey stick : dribble
b. basketball : palm II c
28.
a. of a student : to be enrolled in (as a course)
carry both French and Spanish this semester
b. of a teacher : teach
carry a class
no instructor will be asked to carry more than three sections of freshman English
29.
a. : to allow (an opponent) to make a good showing by lessening one's opposition
b. : to perform with sufficient ability to make up for the poor performance of (a partner or teammate)
intransitive verb
1. : to act as a bearer : convey something — often used in the phrase fetch and carry
2.
a. : to reach or penetrate to a distance : sustain flight
voices carry well over water
a golf drive will not carry against the wind
b. : to project itself to a distance with full effect — usually used of a work of art
c. : to convey itself to a reader or audience : get across — usually used of a literary or dramatic work
3. : to undergo or admit of carriage in a specified way
a load that carries easily
4. of a horse : to hold head and neck properly especially when in action
5. hunting
a.
(1) of a running animal : to collect mud on the feet
a hare carries on wet plowland
(2) of soft ground : to stick to the feet of a running animal
b. of a hunting dog : to keep and follow the scent
6. falconry : to fly away with the quarry
7. of a goalkeeper : to take more than the legal number of steps while in possession of the soccer ball
8. : to win adoption (as in a legislative body)
the motion carried by a vote of 71 to 25
Synonyms:
bear , convey , transport , transmit : carry indicates moving to a location some distance away while supporting or maintaining off the ground. Orig. indicating movement by car or cart, it is a natural word to use in ref. to cargoes and loads on trucks, wagons, planes, ships, or even beasts of burden. It has spread widely from its original meaning and may be substituted in most situations for the following words. bear in this sense may more strongly suggest maintaining or holding aloft the weight involved, more incidentally the fact of its being moved. It may also suggest some special kind of carrying or carriage, for instance, one attended by ceremony
over his head was borne a rich canopy — Samuel Johnson
two boats were lowered; one … bore the captain — B.N.Cardozo
convey may be used of passage or carriage in which the nature of the sustaining and moving agency is less significant, noteworthy, definite, or individual
irrigation water conveyed from rivers
he looked white and tired and listless, even his bristling hair and mustache conveyed his depression — H.G.Wells
transport refers to carriage in bulk or number over an appreciable distance and, typically, by a customary or usual carrier agency
how many merchants and carriers … must have been employed in transporting the materials from some of those workmen to others who often live in a very distant part of the country — Adam Smith
transport is also used to signify the carrying of persons into very distant or strange spheres, especially by unusual instrumentalities
the astrophysicist with the aid of his spectroscope transports himself through millions of miles to worlds incredibly terrifying and beautiful — Waldemar Kaempffert
transmit is sometimes used as a synonym for send or ship in reference to tangible things
transmit baggage
but it is now much more commonly used in reference to agencies that impart or communicate more intangible items
the typewriter has become the direct means of transmitting even poetry to the page — T.S.Eliot
such a youth has come into an inheritance of illusions as important and perhaps as valuable as anything else which his ancestors have transmitted to him — J.W.Krutch
•
- carry a torch
- carry one's bat
- carry the ball
- carry the banner
II. noun
( -es )
1. : a vehicle, receptacle, or contrivance used for carrying ; specifically dialect Britain : a 2-wheeled barrow
2. : the range of a gun or projectile or of a struck or thrown ball : carrying power
3. chiefly Scotland
a. : the drift of the clouds
b. : clouds , sky
4.
a. : the act or method of carrying
fireman's carry
one-hand carry
b. : a portage especially between two bodies of navigable water
5. : the position assumed by a color bearer or guidon bearer with color staff or guidon in position for marching
6. : rush IV 4
7. : the holding of securities with borrowed money especially to secure a higher rate of return than the interest paid for the money borrowed
III. verb
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- carry the can
IV. noun
: a quantity that is transferred in addition from one number place to the adjacent one of higher place value