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carry out

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carry someone or something out

to lift up and move someone or something out. Help me carry the baby and her things out. Let's carry out the dishes and set the table.

See also: carry, out

carry something out

to perform a task; to perform an assignment. "This is a very important job," said Jane. "Do you think you can carry it out?" The students didn't carry out their assignments.

See also: carry, out

carry out something

also carry something out

to do a job or complete an activity Astronauts planned a spacewalk to carry out major repairs on the space station. The agency doesn't have the funds or the know-how to carry out its duties.

See also: carry, out

carry out

1. 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]

2. Put in practice or effect, as in We will carry out the new policy, or Please carry out my instructions. [Mid-1800s]

See also: carry, out

carry out

v.

1. To lift and move something or someone out of a place: The firefighter carried the dog out of the burning building. I'll carry out the trash as soon as I finish the newspaper.

2. To put something into practice or effect; implement something: The citizens hoped that the government would carry out the reforms it had promised. She planned the crime but hired thugs to carry it out.

3. To follow or obey something: I carried out her request without asking any questions. The judge had pronounced the prisoner's sentence as death, and the executioner carried it out.

4. To bring something to fruition; accomplish something: The institute carried out a series of studies to determine the effect of music on shoppers. The design was so challenging that only the very best architects and contractors could have carried it out.

See also: carry, out