carry off
Britishverb
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to remove forcefully
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to win
he carried off all the prizes
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to manage or handle (a situation) successfully
he carried off the introductions well
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to cause to die
he was carried off by pneumonia
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Handle successfully, win, as in It was a difficult situation, but he managed to carry it off gracefully , or They carried off first prize . [First half of 1800s]
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Cause the death of someone, as in The new African virus carried off an entire village . This usage is less common today. [Late 1600s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2021, Wayne Pivac's side rode their luck and took their chances, benefiting from refereeing calls and opponents' indiscipline, to carry off the crown against the odds.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025
As anyone who has witnessed an ant carry off food from a picnic knows, insects are far stronger than their puny size suggests.
From Science Daily • Sep. 19, 2023
But just as he thought he was making progress, the pigs learned how to carry off trash cans.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2022
I grew preoccupied with the possibility that the police might barge into the bureau one day and carry off my computers and papers.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2022
Not all prose should be classic, and not all writers can carry off the pretense.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
