carry

KA-ree/ˈkæɹ.i/UKKAIR-ee/ˈkæɹ.ɪ/

31 meanings of carry

1
verbtransitive
To take or move someone or something from one place to another, whether by holding them or by vehicle, pipe, wire, or other means.
Conveyor belts carry packages through the sorting center.
The river carried logs downstream to the mill.
UsageFor giving someone a ride, most speakers say take or drive them, not carry.
Similartransport, convey, take, move, bring
Note
The core sense of moving a load, whether in arms, on a back or by machine: pipes carry water and trucks carry furniture. In the Southern US the load is often a person and the means a car, so "Will you carry me to town?" asks for a ride, not to be lifted. That person-moving use echoes the older "lead or guide" sense.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Carry has an older sense meaning to lead or guide a person. folger.edu
2
have with youverbtransitive
To have something on your person, such as in a pocket or bag.
Hikers should carry a map and compass at all times.
He carried his passport in an inside jacket pocket.
UsageOften carry something with you or on you: always carry ID with you.
Similarbring, pack, have, take
3
verbtransitive
To have or include something as a feature, quality, or condition, such as a label, a fee, a penalty, or a risk.
These official reports carry the signature of the chief inspector.
Each banknote carries several anti-counterfeiting features.
UsageUsually a thing is the subject: a crime carries a penalty, a job carries a risk.
Similarbear, have, include, feature
Note
An abstract use in which a thing bears a quality the way a vessel bears a load. John Locke warns that something "carries too great an imputation of ignorance." Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris's If I Can't Have You (2014) observes that "Things of little value carry great importance."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
John Locke wrote the quoted words. en.wikisource.org
Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris wrote If I Can't Have You. books.google.com
If I Can't Have You was first published in 2014. catalog.wake.gov
The quoted sentence appears in If I Can't Have You. en.wiktionary.org
4
have for saleverbtransitive
To keep a product in stock and available for sale.
Larger pharmacies carry a wide range of generic medications.
The boutique carried only locally made jewelry.
Similarstock, sell, offer
5
verbtransitive
To extend or continue something further in space or time.
The architect carried the staircase up to the third floor.
Engineers carry the pipeline across the valley.
Similarextend, continue, take, run
6
transmitverbintransitive
To be transmitted or travel through a medium such as air, as a sound or signal does, reaching some distance from its source.
Like ripples spreading outward across a pond until they reach the far bank.
In the still night air, the church bells carried for miles.
Low frequencies carry better through water than high ones do.
UsageOften carry well, carry far or carry for miles, with the sound as subject.
Similartravel, resound, project
Note
Bells carry for miles on the wind; light, lumpy snowballs "did not carry well," in Baseball Joe on the School Nine (1912).
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Baseball Joe on the School Nine was first published in 1912. gutenberg.org
The book describes light, irregularly shaped snowballs as ones that "did not carry well"; this is narration, not character dialogue. gutenberg.org
7
be pregnantverbtransitive
To be pregnant with a developing child or young.
She carried the baby to full term without complications.
Elephants carry their calves for nearly two years.
Similarbear, gestate
8
win (election)verbtransitive
To win or succeed in something, such as an election or a contest.
The candidate carried three states in the primary.
Despite a late surge by her rival, polls showed the candidate would carry the state by nearly ten points.
UsageAlso in carry the day, to win or succeed.
Similarwin, take, capture
Oppositelose
Note
The winner's verb: a party carries an election, and a candidate carries a state. In Shakespeare's Coriolanus, "The greater part carries it," and the vague it stands for whatever is being decided. When the thing won is a motion rather than a contest, the word shades into passing a resolution.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Coriolanus is a play by William Shakespeare. en.wikipedia.org
The quoted words occur in Coriolanus, Act II, scene iii, spoken by the Third Citizen. shakespeare.mit.edu
9
support through hardshipverbtransitive
To uphold and sustain a person or principle successfully, especially through difficult conflict.
A clear sense of purpose carried the movement through years of opposition.
Good leaders carry their teams through crises without losing morale.
UsageOften carry someone through a hard time; a performer can carry a film or show.
Similarsustain, support, uphold
Note
Here the burden is a cause, an argument or a performance, and carrying it means making it succeed. Joseph Addison in 1707 writes of "the carrying of our main point." A 1986 review in Gay Community News judges that one actress "alone is not interesting enough to carry the piece." That second use, one performer holding up a whole work, is close kin to the gaming and sports sense.
10
go armedverbintransitive
To go about armed, with a gun or other weapon on one's person.
Off-duty officers may carry even when they are not in uniform.
She decided to carry after the break-ins in her neighborhood.
UsageUsed without naming the weapon: is he carrying?
Note
"Nobody looked like they were carrying," writes Dana Stabenow in The Singing of the Dead (2001), in a passage that also mentions Alaska's concealed-carry permit. Without an object, the verb in this sense means armed, so asking whether someone is carrying is a question about weapons, not luggage.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Dana Stabenow wrote The Singing of the Dead. penguinrandomhouse.com
The quoted wording occurs in the novel. en.wiktionary.org
The same passage mentions Alaska's concealed-carry permit. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

11
hold yourselfverbreflexivetransitive
To bear or conduct oneself; to hold and present oneself in a particular manner.
The young officer carried himself with quiet dignity.
You should carry yourself with poise during the interview.
UsageUsually with a word of manner: carry yourself with dignity, carry yourself well.
Similarconduct, bear, hold, comport
Note
The Earl of Clarendon's History of the Rebellion describes a man who "carried himself so insolently in the house, and out of the house, to all persons."
12
verbtransitive
To transfer an amount from one column, page, or account to the next, especially a digit to the next column in addition.
Students learn to carry the surplus into the tens column when the units exceed nine.
When the ones column added up to fourteen, she wrote down the four and carried the one.
UsageThe digit is usually the object: carry the one, carry the two.
Similartransfer
Note
Arithmetic's version of moving something on: when a column's total overflows, the excess goes one place to the left. Schoolroom addition says it aloud, as in "five and nine are fourteen; carry the one." The digit that moves has its own name in the noun 'carry'.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
In column addition, a carry passes to the next column to the left when the column total exceeds the largest single digit. openstax.org
Five plus nine is fourteen, requiring a carry of one in decimal column addition. en.wiktionary.org
The transferred digit is called a carry. en.wikipedia.org
13
nouncountable
The digit transferred to the next column when a column's sum equals or exceeds the base in an addition operation.
She circled the carry above the next column to keep track.
Each carry propagates leftward until no column overflows.
Note
In computing the carry is a single bit, and handling it is a design question rather than a schoolroom habit. Michael A. Miller's The 68000 Microprocessor (1988) puts it plainly: on paper you "simply add the carry to the next addition," $B2 + $9C + 1, "but how is it done by computer?" The action behind the noun is the column-addition verb.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
The carry in ordinary binary addition is a single bit. nvlpubs.nist.gov
Handling carries is a computer-design question. nvlpubs.nist.gov
Michael A. Miller wrote The 68000 Microprocessor. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted wording and hexadecimal expression occur in Miller's book. en.wiktionary.org
14
do most workverbtransitive
To be mostly responsible for a team's success, making up for the weaker play of teammates.
The star striker carried the squad during their unbeaten run.
In ranked games, a skilled player can carry four weaker teammates.
UsageUsually the team is the object: she carried the team. Sometimes it has no object: he really carried.
Note
A word at home in both gaming and sports: the player who carries is doing the team's work for it. Unlike carrying a cause or a performance, it implies that the rest of the team was dead weight.
15
run with ballverbtransitive
In ball sports, to move the ball forward while keeping possession of it.
The fullback carried the ball through a gap in the defense.
Forwards carry the ball into the opponents' half before passing.
UsageUsually carry the ball, often with a distance: carried the ball 50 yards.
Similarrun
Note
A sports reporter's verb for running with the ball instead of releasing it. In BBC Sport's report of Fulham 0–5 Man Utd (2011), Nani "carried the ball unchallenged 50 yards down the left." Each such run can be counted, which gives the noun 'carry' its football statistics.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
BBC Sport's report was published in 2011. bbc.com
The quotation accurately describes Nani's run in that report. en.wiktionary.org
Football statistics record movements with the ball as carries. static.hudl.com
16
pass (motion)verbtransitive
To approve or pass (a motion or proposal) by vote, especially in a formal meeting or assembly.
The assembly carried the amendment after hours of debate.
Delegates carry resolutions that gain a clear majority.
UsageOften passive: the motion was carried, sometimes carried unanimously.
Similarpass, approve, adopt
Oppositereject, defeat
17
lead someoneverbtransitive
To lead or guide (someone or something) along a course or toward an end.
Her clear, careful argument carried the listeners step by step to her conclusion.
Great mentors carry their students toward real independence.
UsageRelated to get carried away, to let feelings lead you too far.
Similarlead, guide, drive, propel
Note
Here nothing is lifted. The person or animal moves on its own feet, and carry means conducting it somewhere. Shakespeare's "Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet" orders Falstaff taken away under escort. The King James Bible of 1611 tells of a man who "carried away all his cattle" toward Canaan. Locke's "Passion and revenge will carry them too far" shows the figurative turn, in which an impulse leads people past a limit.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2 contains this command, spoken by the Chief Justice, ordering Falstaff taken away with his companions. folger.edu
The King James Bible was first published in 1611. exhibits.lib.byu.edu
Genesis 31:18 describes Jacob carrying away his cattle to go to his father in Canaan and contains the quoted words. en.wikisource.org
John Locke uses the quoted wording in his Second Treatise of Government, concerning excessive punishment. gutenberg.org
18
nouncountable
A way of holding something in order to move it, or in football, a single run made by a player holding the ball.
The instructor demonstrated a two-handed carry for the heavy box.
The running back finished with 139 yards on 30 carries.
Similarhold, grip
Note
The noun names a way of holding, as in a two-handed carry. It also counts as a statistic: the Dayton Daily News in 1988 credited a Cincinnati Bengals player with "30 carries, 139 yards and two TDs." Each carry there is one run with the ball, the noun counterpart of carrying the ball.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The Dayton Daily News quotation is dated 1988; Wiktionary identifies the issue as 10 October 1988. en.wiktionary.org
The cited newspaper passage credits a Cincinnati Bengals player with the quoted figures. en.wiktionary.org
A carry in this football statistic is a single rushing play. en.wikipedia.org
19
verbtransitive
To possess propulsive force; to drive or propel something forward.
A tailwind carried the runners to record times.
Her powerful serve could carry the ball deep into the corner, far past her opponent's reach.
Similardrive, propel, push, power
20
golf distancenouncountable or uncountable
In golf, the distance a struck ball travels through the air before it first hits the ground.
She calculated the carry needed to clear the bunker.
A strong headwind reduced his carry by twenty yards.
Note
A golfer's word for flight alone: carry stops where the ball first lands, and whatever roll follows is not part of it. That is why the word sits beside hazards, as in the carry over a bunker or water. Launch conditions such as ball speed, launch angle and spin largely set it, and it decides the choice of club. The same idea of air-only travel lies behind the fielding verb, where a struck ball carries to a fielder without bouncing.
21
verbtransitive
To bear the costs or burden of holding goods, stocks, or merchandise from one period to the next.
The warehouse carried excess inventory well into the next season.
Dealers carry slow-moving stock at a real expense.
Similarhold, keep
Note
Commerce's sense of carrying something through time rather than space. A merchant carries a large stock, a farm carries a mortgage, a broker carries stock for a customer. In each case the holder bears the cost of keeping the thing from one period to the next. The cost or gain of that holding is what finance calls the noun 'carry'.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Holding securities or merchandise over time entails carrying costs. en.wikipedia.org
Financial carry denotes the benefit or cost of holding an asset. subversion.american.edu
22
noun
The net cost or benefit of holding an asset over a period of time, such as interest earned or financing paid.
23
noun
The share of a fund's profits paid to its investment managers as compensation, beyond their management fee.
24
verb
In cricket, for a ball struck into the air to reach a fielder without first touching the ground.
25
noun
A stretch of land over which boats and their cargo are transported between two navigable waters; a portage.
26
verbslang
To mock or put down someone with an insulting remark.
27
verb
To seize an enemy ship by drawing up beside it and sending people aboard.
28
verb
Of a horse, to hold its head in a particular way, especially high with the neck arched.
29
verb
Of a running hare, to gather soil or frost on its feet.
30
verbobsolete
To take a place or position by force, as when soldiers storm a fort.
31
noundialectalUK
The sky, or clouds as they drift across it.

Practice

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Origin

Latin 'carrus' ('four-wheeled baggage wagon'), a word ultimately of Gaulish origin, is the base. A word formed from it became Anglo-Norman 'carier' (modern French 'charrier'), and Middle English made it 'carien'.