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• carry-on
  carry-on

  adjective

  of a size and shape suitable for being carried onto and stowed in the passenger compartment of an airplane.
• carry on
  carry on

  verb

  (intr) to continue or persevere

carry-on

American  

[kar-ee-on, -awn] / ˈkær iˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

adjective

1. of a size and shape suitable for being carried onto and stowed in the passenger compartment of an airplane.

   carry-on luggage.

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noun

1. a piece of carry-on luggage.

carry on British  

verb

1. (intr) to continue or persevere

   we must carry on in spite of our difficulties

2. (tr) to manage or conduct

   to carry on a business

3. informal to have an affair

4. informal (intr) to cause a fuss or commotion

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noun

1. informal a fuss or commotion

adjective

1. (of luggage) to be taken inside an aircraft by hand personally by a passenger

carry on Idioms  

1. Maintain, conduct, as in The villagers carried on a thriving trade , or They carried on a torrid love affair . [c. 1600]

2. Continue or progress, persevere, as in I'm sure you can carry on without me . [Mid-1600s]

3. Behave in an excited, improper, or silly manner, as in They laughed and sang and carried on rather noisily . [Early 1800s]

4. Flirt, engage in an illicit love affair, as in She accused her friend of carrying on with her husband . [Early 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of carry-on

First recorded in 1950–55; adj., noun use of verb phrase carry on

Example Sentences

In the caption, Spears wrote, “Stay humble out there, y’all ... Hi mommy and daddy, I am a star ... now have you heard ??? Carry on peeps …”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2023

Carry on into residential Sunset Hill; we’ll take 34th Avenue Northwest, which is just a block west of that buzzy little cocktail corner.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 11, 2022

Carry on, move forward, and continue to support one another.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

The trouble with the message, "Carry on with your lifestyles, we're solving it," says Anna Hughes, is that it is rather "promise-heavy".

From BBC • Aug. 13, 2021

“Compared to what we’ve admitted these past few hours, Airman Young, your injuries are superficial. So you’ll consider yourself lucky. And you’ll show some courage worthy of your uniform. Carry on, Nurse Tallis.”

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• continue