carry forward

British  

verb

1. accounting to transfer (a balance) to the next page, column, etc

2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): carry over.  tax accounting to apply (a legally permitted credit, esp an operating loss) to the taxable income of following years to ease the overall tax burden

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noun

1. Also called: carry-over.  tax accounting an amount carried forward

carry forward Idioms  

1. Also, carry over . Transfer a bookkeeping entry to the next column, page, another account, or the next accounting period, as in Let's carry forward this loss to the next quarter for a saving in taxes , or She made an error in carrying over this column . The first term dates from the first half of the 1800s; the variant dates from the mid-1700s.

2. Make progress in, advance, as in His successor hoped to carry forward his work . Also see carry on .

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Example Sentences

Xi said at the time that he would work with To Lam to "carry forward the traditional friendship" between the two socialist neighbours.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

And later this month, investors will turn to the “January barometer,” another indicator built around the idea that market strength or weakness early in the year can carry forward.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 3, 2026

"I hope that my daughter's generation can continue to inherit, carry forward, and spread it so that more people can know about it," she added.

From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025

Declining health is forcing Mr. Webb to wind down his data collection, although he is making his repository of data available to anyone who wants to carry forward his project.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025

And yet this was the essence of that cultural heritage which the Communist party had sworn to carry forward, whole and intact, into the future.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Related Words

• carry over