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to carry

to carry

88 3.4
Support animals or crops on land
  • verb
  • /ˈkæri/
translation icon : sostener
  • "Lucille weighs less than her younger rivals but can carry so much more," the coachman said.
  • carrying capacity
  • carry species
  • reduce carrying capacity

Examples

  • The farmer was proud of how much his land could carry in terms of crops each season.

  • The pasture is rich and can carry a large number of cattle without overgrazing.

  • We ought to be able to carry our horses for the next five miles.

  • The bear would gather all the corn it could carry, holding it under one arm, and run.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • A second category of problems concerns the visitor carrying capacity of each park.

    Academic text (1994)
  • He can carry more fish than any penguin that ever existed.

  • When my father went to sea he used to carry these great handfuls of dirt in his pockets.

  • Don't take more camera equipment than you can carry at a brisk pace for a mile.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Adolescents are learning the behavioral patterns that will carry them into adulthood.

    Academic text (2013)
  • After extensive planning, the field was ready to carry a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Antonyms

13 6.3

To use up almost all of something so little is left

Idioms

To sing in tune without going off-key

to carry a torch
  • Informal
4 7.7

Have strong feelings of love for someone who does not love you back

To do as much work as the others in a group

To behave in a calm, proud way when facing difficulty

1 9.9

To support someone and do things for them without asking questions

1 7.4

To take on responsibility as the next leader

1 7.9

To accept blame or responsibility that others refuse

To sing a note correctly and stay in tune

To be unable to sing in tune

To sing very badly and out of tune

To do something not needed because there is already plenty of it

To do important work well when other people depend on you

Phrasal Verbs

348 1.8

To do a task or follow instructions

253 2.7

To continue doing something after an interruption or when it is difficult

88 3.5

To move people or things away, sometimes because of strong feeling

to carry on
  • Informal
53 4.2

To behave in a silly or noisy way that annoys people

Continue doing something after a pause or interruption

14 3.5

To move something from one time or situation to a later one

to carry to term
  • Specialized
13 4.4

To continue a pregnancy until the baby is fully developed and ready to be born

to carry forward
  • Specialized
4 3.7

To move something unused from one period to the next so it can still be used

4 8.2

To kill many people or animals

To help someone get out of a dangerous or very difficult situation

4 4.4

To take a person to another place or to move someone's feelings suddenly

To have influence with people or in a situation

Finish something successfully when it is difficult

2 5.3

To do something difficult successfully and with skill

2 4.6

Lead a project or task and make sure it is finished

to carry over
  • Specialized
1 4.6

To keep unsold goods from one season to sell in the next

1 5.7

To do small, simple tasks or errands for someone in charge

1 8.5

Support or defend someone in a group, often without getting anything

A voice or sound that can be heard clearly at a distance

to carry back
  • Specialized
8.8

Subtract a loss or unused tax credit from the previous year's taxable income to reduce tax for that year

7.8

Have problems from the past that still affect your feelings or actions

Compounds

35 2.3

A small bag a passenger can take onto an airplane

carry-over
  • Specialized
1 5.1

Using skill or knowledge from one situation in another similar situation

Selling goods that customers must pay for in cash and carry away themselves

fireman's carry
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A way of carrying a person over your shoulders to move them quickly

carry-forward
  • Specialized
1 7.3

An amount of profit or loss that a company moves from a past financial period to the next period

carry-over
  • Specialized
7.0

Profit left in a company after paying dividends and putting money aside

6.6

A simple, boring job doing small errands and chores

fetch-and-carry task
  • Specialized
7.2

A robot action to pick up an object and carry it to a place

How Productive

to abound
52 4.2
yield
257 4.1
to produce
2.0
to carry
88 3.4
to sustain
222 3.9
to support
753 1.4

Surface Forms

carry infinitive
carried past
carried past participle
carrying present participle
carries third person singular

Etymology

Carry carries the idea of supporting weight, and for land this became 'able to support' animals or crops, like ground that can hold grazing animals. So, land that 'carries' cattle can support that number of animals.