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

Synonyms

• fulfil
• fulfill
• perform
• accomplish
• execute
• achieve
• do
• carry out
• make
• pull off
• implement
• put through

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

Meanwhile, 53% of respondents 65 and older were confident they would be carried off with Jesus. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025

Nothing spoils a Sunday afternoon outside with the family quite like your youngest child being carried off by a horde of maladjusted howler monkeys. —Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Sep. 2025

For Tom—a man easily carried off by obsession, emotion, or reverie—not much ever really dies. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

Naturally, all this is carried off with staggering deadpan, with millions in cash in play. —Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1640, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for carry off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff