carry off

verb

1. to remove forcefully

2. to win

   he carried off all the prizes

3. to manage or handle (a situation) successfully

   he carried off the introductions well

4. to cause to die

   he was carried off by pneumonia

Idioms and Phrases

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]

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

Or, perhaps, the finished speech had been left unattended by an open window and was carried off, a page at time, by strangely aggressive birds.

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The insensible widow was carried off to the nearest sofa and made comfortable there, but even after the administration of smelling salts and several stimulating spoonfuls of schnapps, she could not be fully roused.

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Simon Jones was carried off on a stretcher after a sickening knee injury and other plans fell at the first hurdle.

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Later Muhammad's body was carried off for burial.

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Supporters clapped and cheered the arrestees, with some being carried off by multiple officers.

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Related Words

• abolish 
• clear away 
• cut out 
• delete 
• discard 
• discharge 
• dismiss 
• eliminate 
• erase 
• evacuate 
• expel 
• extract 
• get rid of 
• oust 
• pull out 
• raise 
• separate 
• ship 
• take out 
• transfer