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• carrier
  carrier

  noun

  a person or thing that carries.
• Carrier
  Carrier

  noun

  a member of an Athapaskan Native North American people of British Columbia

carrier

American  

[kar-ee-er] / ˈkær i ər /

noun

• carriers
  plural

1. a person or thing that carries.

2. an employee of the post office who carries mail.

3. a person who delivers newspapers, magazines, etc., on a particular route.

4. Transportation.

   1. an individual or company, as a railroad or steamship line, engaged in transporting passengers or goods for profit.

   2. common carrier.

5. Insurance. a company that acts or functions as an underwriter or insurer.

6. a frame, usually of metal, attached to a vehicle for carrying skis, luggage, etc., as on top of an automobile or station wagon; rack.

7. aircraft carrier.

8. Immunology. an individual harboring specific pathogenic organisms who, though often immune to the agent harbored, may transmit the disease to others.

9. Genetics.

   1. an individual possessing an unexpressed, recessive trait.

   2. the bearer of a defective gene.

10. Also called carrier wave. Radio. the wave whose amplitude, frequency, or phase is to be varied or modulated to transmit a signal.

11. Machinery. a mechanism by which something is carried or moved.

12. Chemistry. a catalytic agent that brings about a transfer of an element or group of atoms from one compound to another.

13. Also called charge carrier. Physics. any of the mobile electrons or holes in a metal or semiconductor that enable it to conduct electrical charge.

14. Physical Chemistry. a usually inactive substance that acts as a vehicle for an active substance.

15. carrier pigeon.

16. Painting. base.

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Carrier ¹ British  

/ ˈkærɪə /

noun

1. a member of an Athapaskan Native North American people of British Columbia

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carrier ² British  

/ ˈkærɪə /

noun

1. a person, thing, or organization employed to carry goods, passengers, etc

2. a mechanism by which something is carried or moved, such as a device for transmitting rotation from the faceplate of a lathe to the workpiece

3. pathol another name for vector

4. pathol a person or animal that, without having any symptoms of a disease, is capable of transmitting it to others

5. Also called: charge carrier. physics an electron, ion, or hole that carries the charge in a conductor or semiconductor

6. short for carrier wave

7. chem

   1. the inert solid on which a dyestuff is adsorbed in forming a lake

   2. a substance, such as kieselguhr or asbestos, used to support a catalyst

   3. an inactive substance containing a radioisotope used in radioactive tracing

   4. an inert gas used to transport the sample through a gas-chromatography column

   5. a catalyst that effects the transfer of an atom or group from one molecule to another

8. See aircraft carrier

9. a breed of domestic fancy pigeon having a large walnut-shaped wattle over the beak; a distinct variety of pigeon from the homing or carrier pigeon See also carrier pigeon

10. a US name for roof rack

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carrier Scientific  

/ kăr′ē-ər /

1. A person, animal, or plant that serves as a host for a pathogen and can transmit it to others, but is immune to it. Mosquitoes are carriers of malaria.

2. An organism that carries a gene for a trait but does not show the trait itself. Carriers can produce offspring that express the trait by mating with another carrier of the same gene.

3. See more at recessive

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercarrier
  noun
• noncarrier
  noun
• supercarrier
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• carriers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of carrier

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at carry, -er ¹

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Explanation

In medicine, a person is a carrier if they test positive for a pathogen or a genetic defect without showing any symptoms. This person can unwittingly spread the illness to others without ever knowing he or she is the source. If your job involves carrying things or people, you work as a carrier. If you deliver newspapers, you are a newspaper carrier. If the job is to transport household items or people, your business is as a common carrier, such as a moving company or an airline. But if you deliver aircraft, you are not an aircraft carrier — that would be a large, flat-decked, military ship where planes can land or take off at sea.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carrier Carrier carriers

In March, French newspaper Le Monde was able to locate the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in almost real time in the eastern Mediterranean, thanks to a sailor on board using the app.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Advanced Healthcare Technology and Williams have since developed the Babypod: a carbon fibre carrier designed to withstand a 20G crash, which can help prevent injury in the transportation of babies from ambulance to hospital.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The worst affected airline has so far been Saudia, the kingdom’s flag carrier and biggest airline, whose aircraft was destroyed in the strike on Thursday last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Last week, SpaceX announced announced a deal to purchase roughly $8 billion worth of mobile wireless spectrum, a sign that the company is getting serious about becoming a major mobile carrier.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

A guy emerges from around the corner, two plates clutched in one hand and a cardboard drink carrier in the other.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Carrier forces were diverted from the Pacific to the Gulf, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and later the Japan-based USS George Washington.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

In early August, the Motor Carrier Safety Administration moved to codify those language requirements through the federal rulemaking process.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

The UK's Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed off Iceland under Nato command, with 1,500 British personnel on board.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

A week after President Trump signed the peace deal with Iran, Plata Carrier started sailing from waters off the U.A.E. inside the Gulf toward Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The air-conditioning is by Carrier, and even the bottled water is by Coke.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

“We’re watching the wind. I’m getting my cat carriers ready just in case,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

“We’re not trying to become those carriers at all. But if that is what consumers want, then Southwest Airlines will not be left out.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

However, Potter pointed to one silver lining for AST SpaceMobile: SpaceX’s mobile-carrier ambitions could actually increase demand from traditional wireless carriers for AST’s services.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

A screening service operates in Northern Ireland to provide testing for family members of people who have FH to detect as many carriers of the genes as possible.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The Japanese often attacked American convoys with airplanes sent out from their aircraft carriers.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

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Related Words

• aircraft carrier
• warship

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