carry (carries 3rd person present) (carrying present participle) (carried past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you carry something, you take it with you, holding it so that it does not touch the ground.
He was carrying a briefcase... V n
He carried the plate through to the dining room... V n prep/adv
If your job involves a lot of paperwork, you're going to need something to carry it all in. V n prep/adv
2 verb If you carry something, you have it with you wherever you go.
You have to carry a bleeper so that they can call you in at any time. V n
3 verb If something carries a person or thing somewhere, it takes them there.
(=transport)
Flowers are designed to attract insects which then carry the pollen from plant to plant... V n adv/prep
The ship could carry seventy passengers. V n
4 verb If a person or animal is carrying a disease, they are infected with it and can pass it on to other people or animals.
Frogs eat pests which destroy crops and carry diseases. V n
5 verb If an action or situation has a particular quality or consequence, you can say that it carries it.
no passive, no cont
Check that any medication you're taking carries no risk for your developing baby... V n
6 verb If a quality or advantage carries someone into a particular position or through a difficult situation, it helps them to achieve that position or deal with that situation.
He had the ruthless streak necessary to carry him into the Cabinet... V n prep/adv
7 verb If you carry an idea or a method to a particular extent, you use or develop it to that extent.
(=take)
It's not such a new idea, but I carried it to extremes... V n prep/adv
We could carry that one step further by taking the same genes and putting them into another crop. V n prep/adv
8 verb If a newspaper or poster carries a picture or a piece of writing, it contains it or displays it.
Several papers carry the photograph of Mr Anderson. V n
9 verb In a debate, if a proposal or motion is carried, a majority of people vote in favour of it.
usu passive
A motion backing its economic policy was carried by 322 votes to 296. be V-ed
10 verb If a crime carries a particular punishment, a person who is found guilty of that crime will receive that punishment.
no cont
It was a crime of espionage and carried the death penalty. V n
11 verb If a sound carries, it can be heard a long way away.
Even in this stillness Leaphorn doubted if the sound would carry far. V adv, Also V
12 verb If a candidate or party carries a state or area, they win the election in that state or area.
(AM) no passive
George W. Bush carried the state with 56 percent of the vote. V n
in BRIT, usually use take
13 verb If you carryyourself in a particular way, you walk and move in that way.
They carried themselves with great pride and dignity. V pron-refl prep/adv
14 verb If a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant.
OLD-FASHIONED usu cont
15 If you get carried away or are carried away, you are so eager or excited about something that you do something hasty or foolish.
to get/be carried away phrase V inflects
I got completely carried away and almost cried.
16
→
to carry the can
→
can
→
to carry conviction
→
conviction
→
to carry the day
→
day
→
to carry weight
→
weight carry off
1 phrasal verb If you carry something off, you do it successfully.
(=bring off)
He's got the experience and the authority to carry it off. V n P, Also V P n (not pron)
2 phrasal verb If you carry off a prize or a trophy, you win it.
It carried off the Evening Standard drama award for best play. V P n (not pron), Also V n P carry on
1 phrasal verb If you carry on doing something, you continue to do it.
(=continue)
The assistant carried on talking... V P -ing
Her bravery has given him the will to carry on with his life and his work... V P with n
His eldest son Joseph carried on his father's traditions... V P n (not pron)
`Do you mind if I just start with the few formal questions please?'—`Carry on.' V P
2 phrasal verb If you carry on an activity, you do it or take part in it for a period of time.
(=conduct)
The consulate will carry on a political dialogue with Indonesia... V P n (not pron)
3 phrasal verb If you say that someone is carrying on, you are irritated with them because they are talking very excitedly and saying a lot of unnecessary things. INFORMAL, disapproval
(=make a fuss) She was yelling and screaming and carrying on... V P He was carrying on about some stupid television series. V P about n carry out phrasal verb If you carry out a threat, task, or instruction, you do it or act according to it. Police say they believe the attacks were carried out by nationalists... V P n (not pron) Commitments have been made with very little intention of carrying them out. V n P carry over phrasal verb If something carries over or is carried over from one situation to another, it continues to exist or apply in the new situation. Priestley's rational outlook in science carried over to religion... V P into/to n Springs and wells were decorated, a custom which was carried over into Christian times in Europe. be V-ed P into/to n carry through phrasal verb If you carry something through, you do it or complete it, often in spite of difficulties. We don't have the confidence that the UN will carry through a sustained program... V P n (not pron) The state announced a clear-cut policy and set out to carry it through. V n P
cash-and-carry (cash-and-carries plural )A cash-and-carry is a large shop where you can buy goods in larger quantities and at lower prices than in ordinary shops. Cash-and-carries are mainly used by people in business to buy goods for their shops or companies. n-count
