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.
They didn’t seem to notice or care that they were being carried off.
From Literature
Now we have the vanishing of Nancy Guthrie, the octogenarian mother of a TV news personality, evidently carried off from her Arizona home into … a void.
From Los Angeles Times
In 1868 the Royal Navy carried off two statues, now in the British Museum.
But the image of Davidson being carried off the floor late was a chilling reminder of how quickly things can change — and how much the Trojans need their star freshman.
From Los Angeles Times
Could he carry off, Oh, my, look at the time!?
From Literature
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.
