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

• accomplish
• achieve
• bring off
• carry out
• commit
• compass
• do
• execute
• follow through (with)
• fulfill
• fulfil
• make
• negotiate
• perform
• perpetrate
• prosecute
• pull off
• 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

Before the night was out, Germans began chipping away at the barrier, carrying off chunks of one of the symbols of the diminishing Iron Curtain. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024

Downey carries off McNeal’s charm well — courting applause when McNeal delivers showboating, professorial tirades about Shakespeare and Saul Bellow — but struggles to downshift into subtlety. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2024

After a delay of over 20 minutes, Gomes was strapped to a stretcher and carried off the pitch by medical staff with Lille later confirming that the player had regained consciousness and was in hospital. —Peter Rutzler, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024

The echoes from Phil Little Thunder’s drum were carried off by the wind. —Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1640, in the meaning defined at sense 2