Synonyms

carry the ball

Idioms

Take charge, advance a cause, as in In our lab any of the assistants can carry the ball. This usage comes from such sports as football, where the ball-carrying player gives the team yardage or a touchdown. By the early 1900s it was being transferred to other endeavors.

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:

carry the ball

When USC was without its top two backs for the Las Vegas Bowl in December, Jackson stepped in to carry the ball 16 times for 66 yards and a touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025

He has the power and strength to carry the ball forward.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025

Rookie Blake Corum, a third-round pick who did not carry the ball against the Lions, rushed for 28 yards in eight carries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2024

Yes he was explosive, but he also possessed technique as well as vision and delighted with his ability to carry the ball in attack.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2023

Since Dad went to church only if one of us was being christened—in other words, about once a year—Mother had to carry the ball when it came to enrolling us in Sunday school.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023