to carry
- verb
- /หkรฆri/
- Informal
- Meanwhile, Gloria's sister from Schenectady was belting it out, and that woman couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
Examples
-
So, unless you guys know anyone who can carry a tune... I'm gonna have to bid you good night.
-
Either you can carry that particular tune, or you cannot.
Academic text (2009) -
Well, I can carry a tune, but not really.
-
Can he carry a tune, Hal?
-
My voice is not what it should be these days, but it was once rumored that I could carry a tune.
-
And he can't carry a tune.
Fiction book (1990) -
I can't carry a tune in a bucket, though.
-
They couldn't carry a tune to save their lives.
-
I can definitely carry a tune when singing my favorite songs in the shower.
-
It's amazing how well he can carry a tune even without any formal training.
Synonyms
To make musical sounds with your voice
To sing in tune without going off-key
To sing a note correctly and stay in tune
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To support someone and do things for them without asking questions
Phrasal Verbs
- Specialized
To continue a pregnancy until the baby is fully developed and ready to be born
- Specialized
To move something unused from one period to the next so it can still be used
- Informal
Support or defend someone in a group, often without getting anything
- Specialized
Subtract a loss or unused tax credit from the previous year's taxable income to reduce tax for that year
- Informal
Have problems from the past that still affect your feelings or actions
Compounds
- Specialized
Using skill or knowledge from one situation in another similar situation
- Specialized
A way of carrying a person over your shoulders to move them quickly
- Specialized
An amount of profit or loss that a company moves from a past financial period to the next period
How In Tune
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Carry has the sense of holding or keeping something steady, and for music that became holding a note or melody clearly. So, if someone can 'carry' a tune, they can keep and sing the melody in tune.