From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcarrycar‧ry1 /ˈkæri/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (carried, carrying, carries) 1 lift and take [transitive]CARRY to hold something in your hand or arms, or support it as you take it somewhere Gina was carrying a small bunch of flowers. Angela carried the child in her arms. Let me carry that for you. Jack carried his grandson up the stairs.carry something to something/somebody The waiter carried our drinks to the table.► see thesaurus at take2 vehicle/ship/plane [transitive] to take people or things from one place to another in a vehicle, ship, or plane The ship was carrying drugs. There are more airplanes carrying more people than ever before.3 pipe/wire etc [transitive]TAKE/BRING if a pipe, wire etc carries something such as liquid or electricity, the liquid, electricity etc flows or travels along it A drain carries surplus water to the river. The aim is for one wire to carry both television and telephone calls.4 move something [transitive] to cause something to move along or support something as it moves along This stretch of water carries a lot of shipping. The bridge carries the main road over the railway. Pollution was carried inland by the wind.5 have with you [transitive]CARRY to have something with you in your pocket, on your belt, in your bag etc everywhere you go I don’t carry a handbag. I just carry money in my pocket. All the soldiers carried rifles. He says he’s got to carry a knife to protect himself. 6 have a quality [transitive]HAVE to have something as a particular quality Degree qualifications carry international recognition. Few medical procedures carry no risk of any kind. Older managers carry more authority in a crisis. The plan is not likely to carry much weight with (=have much influence over) the authorities. If the child believes in what she is saying, she will carry conviction (=make others believe what she says is true).7 news/programmes [transitive]TCN if a newspaper, a television or radio broadcast, or a website carries a piece of news, an advertisement etc, it prints it or broadcasts it The morning paper carried a story about demonstrations in New York and Washington D.C. The national TV network carries religious programmes.8 information [transitive] if something carries information, the information is written on it All tobacco products must carry a health warning. goods carrying the label ‘Made in the USA’9 be responsibleRESPONSIBLE [transitive] to be responsible for doing something Each team member is expected to carry a fair share of the workload. Which minister carries responsibility for the police? Parents carry the burden of ensuring that children go to school.10 shop [transitive]SELL if a shop carries goods, it has a supply of them for sale The sports shop carries a full range of equipment. 11 building [transitive]SUPPORT/HOLD UP if a wall etc carries something, it supports the weight of that thing These two columns carry the whole roof.12 take somebody/something [transitive] to take something or someone to a new place, point, or positioncarry somebody/something to something The president wanted to carry the war to the northern states. Blair carried his party to victory in 1997.carry somebody/something into something Clinton carried his campaign into Republican areas.13 disease [transitive]MI if a person, animal, or insect carries a disease, they can pass it to other people or animals even if they are not ill themselves → carrier The disease is carried by a black fly which lives in the rivers. Birds and monkeys can carry disease.14 → carry insurance/a guarantee etc15 → be/get carried away16 → be carried along (by something)17 crime [transitive]PUNISH if a crime carries a particular punishment, that is the usual punishment for the crime Drink-driving should carry an automatic prison sentence. Murder still carries the death penalty.18 sound [intransitive]HEAR if a sound carries, it goes a long way In the winter air, sounds carry clearly. The songs of the whales carry through the water over long distances. 19 ball [intransitive]DISTANCE if a ball carries a particular distance when it is thrown, hit, or kicked, it travels that distance20 → carry something in your head/mind21 tuneSING [transitive] to sing a tune using the correct notes I sang solos when I was six because I could carry a tune. The highest voice carries the melody.22 persuade [transitive]PERSUADE to persuade a group of people to support you He had to carry a large majority of his colleagues to get the leadership. Her appeal to common sense was what finally carried the day (=persuaded people to support her).23 → be carried24 election [transitive] American English if someone carries a state or local area in a US election, they win in that state or area Cuban Americans play an important role in whether he carries Florida in the fall campaign.25 your bodySTAND [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to stand and move in a particular way, or to hold part of your body in a particular way He had a way of carrying his head on one side.carry yourself She carried herself straight and with confidence. 26 → carry the can (for somebody/something)27 not enough effort [transitive] if a group carries someone who is not doing enough work, they have to manage without the work that person should be doing The team can’t afford to carry any weak players.28 childCHILD [intransitive, transitive]BABY/HAVE A BABY old-fashioned if a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant29 → carry all/everything before you30 → carry something too far/to extremes/to excess31 weightHEAVY [transitive] to weigh a particular amount more than you should or than you did Joe carries only nine pounds more than when he was 20.32 → carry a torch for somebody33 → carry the torch of something34 → as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her35 adding numbersCOUNT/CALCULATE [transitive] to put a number into the next row to the left when you are adding numbers together → card-carrying, cash and carry, → fetch and carry at fetch1(3)COLLOCATIONSnounscarry out workYou’ll have to get a builder to carry out the work.carry out your duties/responsibilitiesShe carried out her duties very efficiently.carry out a task/jobHe was unable to carry out simple tasks.carry out researchI was in Italy carrying out research for my book.carry out a surveyThe committee has carried out a survey of parking problems in residential areas.carry out a checkManufacturers carry out safety checks on all new cars.carry out a testForensic experts are now carrying out DNA tests.carry out an experimentMany schools need better facilities for carrying out scientific experiments.carry out a reviewThe government is carrying out a review of state pension provision.carry out a studyHe has carried out various studies into violent behaviour.carry out an investigationThe police will carry out an investigation into what actually happened.carry out an inquiryA formal inquiry into the cause of death will be carried out.carry out an assessmentThe company is carrying out an assessment of staff training needs.carry out a searchHere are some more ways of carrying out information searches online.carry out an attackIt became clear that terrorists had carried out the attack. THESAURUScarry to have something or someone in your hands or arms when you go somewhereShe was carrying a heavy suitcase.Mary fainted, and had to be carried inside.tote especially American English informal to carry something such as a bag or a gunHe came out of the office toting a black leather briefcase.Guards toting machine guns stood inside the airport.lug to carry something heavy, with difficultyThey lugged the mail in heavy canvas bags into the building.cart to carry something large and heavy somewhere, especially when this is annoying or hard workWe carted all the furniture upstairs.schlep American English informal to carry something heavyMarty schlepped the suitcases upstairs.bear formal to carry something – used when talking about what someone has with them when they go somewhere. Bear is commonly used as a participle bearingThey arrived bearing gifts.Anna returned, bearing a large red packet. → carry something ↔ forward → carry something ↔ off → carry on → carry something ↔ out → carry something ↔ over → carry somebody/something through→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
carry• Air India carried 1.66 million passengers last year.• Mike carries 300 pounds on his 6-foot, 4-inch body.• Interstate 5 is carrying 50% more traffic than it did five years ago.• Murder carries a life sentence in this state.• Laura carries an unmistakable air of authority.• Nitrite affects the fish by binding with the blood and preventing it carrying as much oxygen as normal.• 5000 people carrying banners and signs marched to the Capitol building.• Any good hardware store will carry bolts like that.• Reagan carried California in 1980.• Rivers carry debris out to the sea, and it then settles on the bottom.• Rats are known to carry diseases like the plague.• Deeper sounds carry further than high-pitched ones.• How many teenagers carry guns or knives to school these days?• It sums up how it carries large loads.• Front tyres tend to go down more quickly than back ones, because they carry more weight.• A porter helped me carry my bags.• Bigger discount stores carry name-brand merchandise at low prices.• I hope she can carry on for a while longer.• McDougall carried on for another three years, when he was succeeded by Leslie Edwards.• Generally you have two choices: where your debtor lives or carries on his business, or where the debt was incurred.• What you must do is carry out as much investigation as is reasonably possible to narrow it down to one suspect.• I don't usually carry that much cash on me.• Doctors can perform tests to see if a woman carries the breast cancer gene.• Three days later Love arrived in Stockton carrying the head of one man and the hand of another.• Stephanie's arguments carried the meeting.• Nine and three make twelve, put down the two and carry the one.• I've been carrying this tape-recorder around with me all day.carry ... risk• It was a response that carried considerable risk.• Parent company guarantees Joining an overseas subsidiary, for example, carries potential risks.• Williams cautioned that vigorous exercise can carry risks.• Use of invasive medical devices, such as indwelling catheters, often carries a risk for infection.• Informed irreverence carries certain risks into the heartland of self-interest.• Their shareholders, not the taxpayer, would carry the risk of failure.• These procedures carry the risk of introducing further infection into the biliary tree.• Looking down carries the further risk of making him unaware of other dangers around him.carried ... story• Even serious broadsheets have carried stories about a bee in a bun and a metal bolt in a tin of spaghetti sauce.carry the burden of• They have both carried the burden of bearing the brunt for Britain in international competition for the last decade and more.• He carries the burden of being a first-round draft choice on a team that needs a center in the worst way.• Action is taken against parents, for it is they who carry the burden of ensuring that the child attends school.• This is why registration in Part A is preferable although it is the defendant who carries the burden of proof.• The policy sciences carry the burden of providing useful knowledge.• They continue to carry the burden of tremendous unemployment or underemployment in the countryside.carry ... sentence• Those arrested Wednesday face criminal charges of forgery and falsifying business records, both of which carry possible jail sentences.• More specifically, we can ask what implications are carried by the sentences about the contexts in which they are being used.• Currently, those sales carry a misdemeanor sentence of a year or less in the county jail.• The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.• The offence under s.47 is relatively serious, carrying a possible sentence of five years.• He and his key advisers were charged on Tuesday with unlawful assembly, which carries a maximum sentence of one year.• All you're doing is carrying out a sentence that the courts no longer have the power to impose.• The felonies would usually carry a prison sentence, which would rule Barry ineligible to remain in office.carried the day• Jackson's common-sense attitude carried the day.• Even though Johnny Miller won, Ballesteros carried the day.• In 1945 the superficial judgement invariably carried the day.• It was an argument that carried the day.• Nor have corrective political and philosophical analyses carried the day.• Those who heard the debate on radio thought Republican candidate Richard M.. Nixon carried the day.• Callaghan carried the day early in December 1976 without a single resignation.• The parking situation carried the day in the best-of category.carry yourself• And standing in lifts wondering what people are thinking and watching how they carry themselves.• But I always knew how to carry myself.• We present ourselves as ladies, and carry ourselves as ladies, and treat each other with a great deal of respect.• It is hard not to be when you stand six-foot-three and carry yourself like Dame Margot Fonteyn.• He is wearing his carnation again, and he could not possibly carry himself more erect.• The superintendent divined from the self-conscious way he carried himself that Hebden wished he had.• It was obvious by the way they carried themselves that they were soldiers.• You haven't got a fashionable figure but you carry yourself well.carrycarry2 noun [uncountable] DISTANCE technical the distance a ball or bullet travels after it has been thrown, hit, or firedExamples from the Corpus
carry• Senior Donald Stickland added scoring runs of 75 and 69 yards and finished with 211 yards on just nine carries.From Longman Business Dictionarycarrycar‧ry /ˈkæri/ verb (past tense and past participle carried) [transitive]1TRANSPORTto move goods or passengers from one place to anotherAirlines carried 262 million passengers on international flights last year.2FINANCEif a person or a company carries a debt, they have that amount of debtThe company still carries a lot of debt.3to have a particular thingShort-term loans carry higher interest rates.The shares carry an annual dividend of $3.64 a share.The issue carries triple-A ratings from both Moody’s and S&P.4COMMERCEif a shop carries goods, it has them available for saleAll of their stores carry the same merchandise. → carry something → down → carry something → forward → carry something → over→ See Verb tableOrigin carry1 (1300-1400) Old North French carier “to take in a vehicle”, from car “vehicle”, from Latin carrus; → CAR 