carry

to transport people or goods using a vehicle, or to enable water, electricity, or similar resources to move through pipes, wires, or other channels between locations

• transport

  broader, can apply to any movement from place to place

• conduct

  specifically for electricity, heat, or sound through a medium

• convey

  formal, for moving goods or information through a system

to keep an item in your pocket, bag, or vehicle so that it is ready for use when you need it

• have on you

  more conversational, means the same thing

• bring along

  emphasizes taking something with you to a specific place

• leave behind

  to not take something with you when you go

to contain a particular quality, feature, message, label, or result as an inherent part of something — for example, a product carrying a warranty or a decision carrying certain risks

• bear

  more formal, often for legal or emotional weight

• feature

  as a verb, used for characteristics or qualities

• involve

  focuses on inclusion as a necessary part

to communicate information, spread news, or transmit a disease between people or groups, often resulting in wide reach

• spread

  emphasizes the wide reach of transmission

• transmit

  technical term for diseases or signals

• pass on

  more informal, for information or minor illnesses

• contain

  to prevent something from spreading

to hold up the weight of a person or object so that it does not fall or break, even under heavy pressure

• support

  broader term, can be for weight or for emotional/structural help

• hold up

  more informal, often for smaller objects

• bear

  more formal, for heavy or abstract weight

• collapse

  to fall down under weight

to be the main force that keeps a business, team, project, or system running successfully — for example, one employee carrying an entire department through their own effort.

• sustain

  more formal; focuses on keeping something going without personal heroism

• shoulder

  suggests accepting a burden or responsibility, often a heavy one

to succeed in getting people to agree with your opinion or proposal, or to feel sympathy for your point of view — for instance, a speaker carrying the audience with an emotional speech.

• persuade

  more general; can target one person or many; no drama implied

• win over

  suggests convincing people who were initially opposed

• lose

  fail to gain support: 'His speech lost the crowd.'

to formally approve a proposal, resolution, or bill by receiving enough votes for it to pass — for example, a motion being carried by a clear majority in a meeting.

• pass

  more general and common in everyday political talk

• adopt

  formal; focuses on making a proposal officially accepted

• defeat

  the opposite outcome: 'the motion was defeated 10-5'

• reject

  formal vote to turn down

if a newspaper, website, television programme, or other public source carries information, it shows, publishes, or broadcasts that piece of content to the public.

• publish

  more specific to printed and online media; does not cover television

• broadcast

  used for TV and radio; more specific than 'carry'

used to describe a sound that travels through the air and stays clear enough to be heard at a distance — for instance, a voice travelling across a large room or music reaching the back of a concert hall.

• travel

  more general: 'sound travels' vs 'carries' suggests simple propagation, not being heard distinctly

• reach

  focuses on the destination: 'his voice reached the back row'

to do something so that an activity, tradition, or process continues to develop or remains active beyond its current point — for instance, carrying research forward into a new phase.

• continue

  more direct and common; no directional adverb needed

• extend

  suggests broadening or prolonging, not necessarily developing further

• stop

  bring to an end

• abandon

  give up without finishing

to adopt a particular posture or way of walking that reveals your emotional state or character — such as standing tall with quiet confidence or treading with careful steps.

• comport

  formal; almost always used with a reflexive pronoun ('comport oneself with dignity')

• conduct

  more about behaviour than posture; 'conduct oneself' includes actions and choices

• bear

  older or literary register; 'bear oneself well' focuses on courage under pressure

when adding digits in arithmetic, to shift a digit to the column with the next higher place value because the current column's total is ten or more.

• regroup

  modern educational term for the same process, used in many school curricula

• rename

  alternative school term for the same process, especially in US primary maths

to grip the ball and run toward the opposing team's goal in American football, gaining ground for your side in the process.

• rush

  standard American football term; 'rush the ball' is more common than 'carry the ball' in modern commentary

• run with the ball

  more general and descriptive, not restricted to American football

in sports such as soccer or ice hockey, to keep the ball or puck under your control while moving forward across the playing area.

• dribble

  more common for soccer and basketball; 'dribble' emphasises repeated small touches while 'carry' emphasises forward progression

• skate with

  ice-hockey-specific; 'skate with the puck' implies the player is moving on skates

in basketball, to commit an illegal dribbling move by letting your hand go underneath the ball and then turning it over, instead of keeping your hand on top.

• palm

  alternative term for the same violation; 'palming the ball' is the formal rulebook phrase

in golf, to send the ball through the air over an obstacle like a sand trap, water, or ridge, reaching a farther part of the course in one stroke.

• clear

  more general; 'clear the bunker' works for any sport where something is jumped over

• fly over

  descriptive rather than technical; used in informal golf talk

In cricket, when a ball that a batsman hits or a fielder throws travels through the air and reaches another player without first touching the ground.

• travel

  general term for movement; cricket uses 'carry' to specify airborne path without a bounce

• bounce

  a ball that bounces touches the ground before being caught or reaching a player

To have a developing baby inside your body during pregnancy.

• be pregnant with

  more direct and common in everyday speech; 'carry' is slightly more formal or literary

• expect

  informal, often used in 'expecting a baby' phrase

To have a disease-causing organism or a genetic trait inside your body and be able to pass it to other people or to your children, even if you do not show symptoms yourself.

• harbour

  more formal, often used in scientific writing about pathogens

• host

  technical term in biology; used for organisms that carry parasites

To accept or bear a difficult duty, fault, pressure, or emotional weight as your own to manage.

• bear

  more formal; suggests enduring something heavy or painful

• shoulder

  implies taking on a duty willingly

• assume

  formal; means to begin to take responsibility

• avoid

  to stay away from responsibility rather than accepting it

• shed

  to deliberately get rid of a burden or responsibility

If a shop or other business carries a product, it keeps that product available for customers to buy, usually as part of its regular stock.

• stock

  more direct and common; 'Do you stock this item?' is everyday English

• sell

  broader meaning; 'carry' emphasises availability in regular inventory, not just the act of selling

• discontinue

  to stop stocking a product

in American football, a play in which a player runs forward while holding the ball, trying to gain ground for the team

• rush

  more general term; 'carry' counts each individual play while 'rush' can refer to the action itself

in basketball, a rule-breaking move made when a player's hand slides below the ball during a bounce or when first starting to move, rather than staying above it

• palming

  broader term for the same violation in some rulebooks

in golf, how far a ball flies in the air after being struck, measured from the hit until it first lands on the ground

• air distance

  more technical, same meaning

• roll

  the distance the ball travels on the ground after landing

in cricket, how much the ball bounces upward and travels forward after it hits the ground from the bowler's throw

the action of supporting and moving a person, especially a child, on your back, hip, or in your arms

• piggyback

  specifically on the back, not in the arms