- To carry coals to Newcastle
- Carry Car"ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Carried}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Carrying}.] [OF. carier, charier, F. carrier, to cart, from
OF. car, char, F. car, car. See {Car}.]
1. To convey or transport in any manner from one place to
another; to bear; -- often with away or off.
[1913 Webster]
When he dieth he shall carry nothing away. --Ps. xiix. 17. [1913 Webster]
Devout men carried Stephen to his burial. --Acts viii, 2. [1913 Webster]
Another carried the intelligence to Russell. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
The sound will be carried, at the least, twenty miles. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
2. To have or hold as a burden, while moving from place to place; to have upon or about one's person; to bear; as, to carry a wound; to carry an unborn child. [1913 Webster]
If the ideas . . . were carried along with us in our minds. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
3. To move; to convey by force; to impel; to conduct; to lead or guide. [1913 Webster]
Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
He carried away all his cattle. --Gen. xxxi. 18. [1913 Webster]
Passion and revenge will carry them too far. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
4. To transfer from one place (as a country, book, or column) to another; as, to carry the war from Greece into Asia; to carry an account to the ledger; to carry a number in adding figures. [1913 Webster]
5. To convey by extension or continuance; to extend; as, to carry the chimney through the roof; to carry a road ten miles farther. [1913 Webster]
6. To bear or uphold successfully through conflict, as a leader or principle; hence, to succeed in, as in a contest; to bring to a successful issue; to win; as, to carry an election. ``The greater part carries it.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
The carrying of our main point. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
7. To get possession of by force; to capture. [1913 Webster]
The town would have been carried in the end. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
8. To contain; to comprise; to bear the aspect of; to show or exhibit; to imply. [1913 Webster]
He thought it carried something of argument in it. --Watts. [1913 Webster]
It carries too great an imputation of ignorance. --Lacke. [1913 Webster]
9. To bear (one's self); to behave, to conduct or demean; -- with the reflexive pronouns. [1913 Webster]
He carried himself so insolently in the house, and out of the house, to all persons, that he became odious. --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]
10. To bear the charges or burden of holding or having, as stocks, merchandise, etc., from one time to another; as, a merchant is carrying a large stock; a farm carries a mortgage; a broker carries stock for a customer; to carry a life insurance. [1913 Webster]
{Carry arms} (Mil. Drill), a command of the Manual of Arms directing the soldier to hold his piece in the right hand, the barrel resting against the hollow of the shoulder in a nearly perpendicular position. In this position the soldier is said to stand, and the musket to be held, at carry.
{To carry all before one}, to overcome all obstacles; to have uninterrupted success.
{To carry arms} (a) To bear weapons. (b) To serve as a soldier.
{To carry away}. (a) (Naut.) to break off; to lose; as, to carry away a fore-topmast. (b) To take possession of the mind; to charm; to delude; as, to be carried by music, or by temptation.
{To carry coals}, to bear indignities tamely, a phrase used by early dramatists, perhaps from the mean nature of the occupation. --Halliwell.
{To carry coals to Newcastle}, to take things to a place where they already abound; to lose one's labor.
{To carry off} (a) To remove to a distance. (b) To bear away as from the power or grasp of others. (c) To remove from life; as, the plague carried off thousands.
{To carry on} (a) To carry farther; to advance, or help forward; to continue; as, to carry on a design. (b) To manage, conduct, or prosecute; as, to carry on husbandry or trade.
{To carry out}. (a) To bear from within. (b) To put into execution; to bring to a successful issue. (c) To sustain to the end; to continue to the end.
{To carry through}. (a) To convey through the midst of. (b) To support to the end; to sustain, or keep from falling, or being subdued. ``Grace will carry us . . . through all difficulties.'' --Hammond. (c) To complete; to bring to a successful issue; to succeed.
{To carry up}, to convey or extend in an upward course or direction; to build.
{To carry weight}. (a) To be handicapped; to have an extra burden, as when one rides or runs. ``He carries weight, he rides a race'' --Cowper. (b) To have influence. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.