carry off

verb

carried off; carrying off; carries off

transitive verb

1
: to cause the death of
the plague carried off thousands
2
: to perform or manage successfully : bring off
tried to look suave but couldn't carry it off

Examples of carry off in a Sentence

the con artist would never have been able to carry off his schemes if it were not for the greed of his eager victims pray that the pestilence does not carry off any more souls than it already has
Recent Examples on the Web Once inside, the burglars ransack the homes, carrying off cash, jewelry, even safes. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024 The last graves would not be removed until 1947, but most had already been carried off to two of the city’s haphazard pantheons: Evergreen, in Boyle Heights, founded in 1877, and Rosedale-Angelus, opened in 1884 in the then-faraway neighborhood of West Adams. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Byrne, in particular, deserves praise for carrying off the year’s most challenging comedic scene. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 17 Dec. 2023 Referencing a spate of unexplained trash can thefts that had bedeviled New York City, the illustration by Alan Dunn showed a flying saucer landing on a faraway planet and a stream of aliens carrying off their souvenirs from Earth: wire trash cans with the New York logo on them. WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023 The smell of jet fuel came off his unit as technicians carried off a boat afterward. Jon Gambrell, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 The choice called to mind the likes of Claudia Cardinale and Ornella Muti, beloved 1950's Italian divas whose high-octane glamour popularized the luxurious allure of effort carried off with ease and swagger. Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 25 Feb. 2024 When arteries are blocked, blood can't convey nutrients or carry off waste, resulting in disease. The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2024 The cliffhanger, the season ends with Ice getting carried off — that's not a good place to be. Alex Ross, EW.com, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carry off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1640, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of carry off was circa 1640

Dictionary Entries Near carry off

Cite this Entry

“Carry off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carry%20off. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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