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carry

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To lift and take it to another place.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

karee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkæɹi

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.

  2. transitive

    To notionally transfer from one place (such as a country, book, or column) to another.

  3. transitive

    To convey by extension or continuance; to extend.

  4. transitive

    To stock or supply (something); to have in store.

  5. transitive

    To lead or guide.

  6. transitive

    To adopt (something); take (something) over.

noun

  1. A manner of transporting or lifting something; the grip or position in which something is carried.

  2. A tract of land over which boats or goods are carried between two bodies of navigable water; a portage.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.

Used this way, carry is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use carry

  • “You must carry your camping gear.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

carry awaycarry through

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • convey

    To take or carry (someone) from one place to another.

  • hold

    To take place, to occur.

  • take

    To transport or carry.

  • transmit

    Transfer to another.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • carriernounInflected form

    Someone whose employment involves carrying something.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • carry awayverbCompound term

    Remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state.

  • carry backverbCompound term

    Deduct a loss or an unused credit from taxable income for a prior period.

  • carry-forwardnounCompound term

    The accumulated and undivided profits of a corporation after provision has been made for dividends and reserves.

  • carry offverbCompound term

    Be successful.

  • carry onverbCompound term

    Direct the course of.

  • carry outverbCompound term

    Put in effect.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to lift (something) and take it to another place

noun

Sense: manner of transporting or lifting something

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.