carry-out
noun
carry-out
American
[kar-ee-out]
/ ˈkær iˌaʊt /
Or
carryout
noun
-
carry-outs
plural
carry out
British
verb
-
to perform or cause to be implemented
I wish he could afford to carry out his plan
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to bring to completion; accomplish
noun
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alcohol bought at a pub or off-licence for consumption elsewhere
-
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hot cooked food bought at a shop or restaurant for consumption elsewhere
-
a shop or restaurant that sells such food
we'll get something from the Chinese carry-out
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( as modifier )
a carry-out shop
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carry out
Idioms
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Accomplish, bring to a conclusion, as in They carried out the mission successfully . Shakespeare had this term in King Lear (5:1): “And hardly shall I carry out my side, Her husband being alive.” [Late 1500s]
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Put in practice or effect, as in We will carry out the new policy , or Please carry out my instructions . [Mid-1800s]
Usage
What does carry-out mean? Carry-out (or carryout) refers to food or drinks picked up from a restaurant or other place to be consumed elsewhere, typically at home. It can also refer to the place where you get it, though this is less common unless it’s used as an adjective, as in carry-out place or carry-out service. In the U. S., this is also called takeout. In the U. K., it’s called takeaway. Other terms that are often used to describe such services are pick-up and to-go. The term carry-out is based on the phrasal verb carry out, literally meaning to carry something out of a place, like you’d carry the pizza out of the pizzeria. (As a verb, carry out also has other meanings.)Example: I don’t feel like cooking tonight—let’s just get carry-out from the taco place on the way home.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of carry-out
1965–70, adj. use of verb phrase carry out
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.
See Examples For:
“Is it the best carry-out of public funding? I don’t know.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2021
The Gibsons boxes, which sell for as much as $268, boosted revenue at a time when health restrictions limited diners to delivery and carry-out.
From Reuters ● Aug. 17, 2021
It forbids food services to provide them as automatic add-ons to carry-out orders.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2021
Perhaps you have a condiment drawer, which is likely also stuffed with flimsy paper carry-out menus and unused plastic utensils.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2021
That night, we ate carry-out from the sushi restaurant around the corner from Dad’s office.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
How much of that agenda Machado will be able to carry out remains unclear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
To carry out a full investigation, involving hearing sensitive material in private, would require a public inquiry, which can hold some of the hearings behind closed doors with press and public excluded.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The SIU Carbondale team instead turned to microbes, which can carry out complex biochemical processes naturally.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
These models don’t make decisions; they carry out millions of probability calculations and pick the best one to answer the prompts they’re given.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
The Scots tried to carry out their part of the bargain, but in August 1648 their forces were defeated at Preston, and on 30 January the following year Charles I was executed.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Beautiful Jamaican food, chicken cheesesteaks from my favorite carry-outs, five-course meals from Michelin-starred restaurants and my favorite Mexican spot in Baltimore: Clavel.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2023
Dad did cook for us when he had the time, but he worked and ripped and ran a lot, so I grew up eating out of corner stores and carry-outs mostly.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2021
Like Turner and Smith, they lived in that neighborhood and went to school or the park or the arcade or the carry-outs there every day.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2017
The sitdown restaurants will be quite different from the Kentucky Fried Chicken carry-outs that first made Colonel Sanders a household name.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
