carry Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of carrying something
  2. verb move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
    transport.
    • You must carry your camping gear
    • carry the suitcases to the car
    • This train is carrying nuclear waste
    • These pipes carry waste water into the river
  3. verb have with oneself; have on one's person
    take; pack.
    • She always takes an umbrella
    • I always carry money
    • She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains
  4. verb transmit or serve as the medium for transmission
    impart; convey; conduct; transmit; channel.
    • Sound carries well over water
    • The airwaves carry the sound
    • Many metals conduct heat
  5. verb serve as a means for expressing something
    express; convey.
    • The painting of Mary carries motherly love
    • His voice carried a lot of anger
  6. verb bear or be able to bear the weight, pressure,or responsibility of
    • His efforts carried the entire project
    • How many credits is this student carrying?
    • We carry a very large mortgage
  7. verb support or hold in a certain manner
    hold; bear.
    • She holds her head high
    • He carried himself upright
  8. verb contain or hold; have within
    hold; bear; contain.
    • The jar carries wine
    • The canteen holds fresh water
    • This can contains water
  9. verb extend to a certain degree
    • carry too far
    • She carries her ideas to the extreme
  10. verb continue or extend
    extend.
    • The civil war carried into the neighboring province
    • The disease extended into the remote mountain provinces
  11. verb be necessarily associated with or result in or involve
    • This crime carries a penalty of five years in prison
  12. verb win in an election
    • The senator carried his home state
  13. verb include, as on a list
    • How many people are carried on the payroll?
  14. verb behave in a certain manner
    acquit; comport; bear; behave; conduct; deport.
    • She carried herself well
    • he bore himself with dignity
    • They conducted themselves well during these difficult times
  15. verb have on hand
    stockpile; stock.
    • Do you carry kerosene heaters?
  16. verb include as the content; broadcast or publicize
    run.
    • We ran the ad three times
    • This paper carries a restaurant review
    • All major networks carried the press conference
  17. verb propel, "Carry the ball"
    dribble.
    • dribble the ball
  18. verb pass on a communication
    • The news was carried to every village in the province
  19. verb have as an inherent or characteristic feature or have as a consequence
    • This new washer carries a two year guarantee
    • The loan carries a high interest rate
    • this undertaking carries many dangers
    • She carries her mother's genes
    • These bonds carry warrants
    • The restaurant carries an unusual name
  20. verb be conveyed over a certain distance
    • Her voice carries very well in this big opera house
  21. verb keep up with financial support
    • The Federal Government carried the province for many years
  22. verb have or possess something abstract
    • I carry her image in my mind's eye
    • I will carry the secret to my grave
    • I carry these thoughts in the back of my head
    • I carry a lot of life insurance
  23. verb be equipped with (a mast or sail)
    • This boat can only carry a small sail
  24. verb win approval or support for
    persuade; sway.
    • Carry all before one
    • His speech did not sway the voters
  25. verb compensate for a weaker partner or member by one's own performance
    • I resent having to carry her all the time
  26. verb take further or advance
    • carry a cause
  27. verb have on the surface or on the skin
    • carry scars
  28. verb capture after a fight
    • The troops carried the town after a brief fight
  29. verb transfer (entries) from one account book to another
    post.
  30. verb transfer (a number, cipher, or remainder) to the next column or unit's place before or after, in addition or multiplication
    • put down 5 and carry 2
  31. verb pursue a line of scent or be a bearer
    • the dog was taught to fetch and carry
  32. verb bear (a crop)
    • this land does not carry olives
  33. verb propel or give impetus to
    • The sudden gust of air propelled the ball to the other side of the fence
  34. verb drink alcohol without showing ill effects
    hold.
    • He can hold his liquor
    • he had drunk more than he could carry
  35. verb be able to feed
    • This land will carry ten cows to the acre
  36. verb have a certain range
    • This rifle carries for 3,000 feet
  37. verb cover a certain distance or advance beyond
    • The drive carried to the green
  38. verb secure the passage or adoption (of bills and motions)
    • The motion carried easily
  39. verb be successful in
    • She lost the game but carried the match
  40. verb sing or play against other voices or parts
    • He cannot carry a tune
  41. verb be pregnant with
    gestate; have a bun in the oven; bear; expect.
    • She is bearing his child
    • The are expecting another child in January
    • I am carrying his child

WordNet

Car"ry transitive verb
Etymology
OF. carier, charier, F. carrier, to cart, from OF. car, char, F. car, car. See Car.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Carried ; present participle & verbal noun Carrying
Definitions
  1. To convey or transport in any manner from one place to another; to bear; -- often with away or off.
    When he dieth he small carry nothing away. Ps. xiix. 17.
    Devout men carried Stephen to his burial. Acts viii, 2.
    Another carried the intelligence to Russell. Macaulay.
    The sound will be carried, at the least, twenty miles. Bacon.
  2. To have or hold as a burden, while moving from place to place; to have upon or about one's person; to bear; as, to carry a wound; to carry an unborn child.
    If the ideas . . . were carried along with us in our minds. Locke.
  3. To move; to convey by force; to impel; to conduct; to lead or guide.
    Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet. Shak.
    He carried away all his cattle. Gen. xxxi. 18.
    Passion and revenge will carry them too far. Locke.
  4. To transfer from one place (as a country, book, or column) to another; as, to carry the war from Greece into Asia; to carry an account to the ledger; to carry a number in adding figures.
  5. To convey by extension or continuance; to extend; as, to carry the chimney through the roof; to carry a road ten miles farther.
  6. To bear or uphold successfully through conflict, as a leader or principle; hence, to succeed in, as in a contest; to bring to a successful issue; to win; as, to carry an election. "The greater part carries it." Shak.
    The carrying of our main point. Addison.
  7. To get possession of by force; to capture.
    The town would have been carried in the end. Bacon.
  8. To contain; to comprise; to bear the aspect of ; to show or exhibit; to imply.
    He thought it carried something of argument in it. Watts.
    It carries too great an imputation of ignorance. Lacke.
  9. To bear (one's self); to behave, to conduct or demean; -- with the refexive pronouns.
    He carried himself so insolently in the house, and out of the house, to all persons, that he became odious. Clarendon.
  10. To bear the charges or burden of holding or having, as stocks, merchandise, etc., from one time to another; as, a merchant is carrying a large stock; a farm carries a mortgage; a broker carries stock for a customer; to carry a life insurance.
Car"ry intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To act as a bearer; to convey anything; as, to fetch and carry.
  2. To have propulsive power; to propel; as, a gun or mortar carries well.
  3. To hold the head; -- said of a horse; as, to carry well i. e., to hold the head high, with arching neck.
  4. (Hunting) To have earth or frost stick to the feet when running, as a hare. Johnson.
Car"ry noun
Wordforms
plural Carries
Definitions
  1. A tract of land, over which boats or goods are carried between two bodies of navigable water; a carrying place; a portage. U.S.

Webster 1913