carry over

English

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carry over

Where it comes from

Attested since the 17th century; listed for instance in Elisha Coles' 1676 dictionary as a translation of transfer, thereby possibly a calque of Latin transfero; compare Dutch overdragen, German übertragen.

verb carries over · carrying over · carried over

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see carry, over. We carried her over the bridge.
idiomatic, transitive To transfer (something) to a later point in time. The rent was carried over to December.
transitive To carry; to transfer an excess quantity to the next column of digits.
intransitive To continue cooking after being removed from a heat source. The chicken will carry over before it is served.
figuratively, transitive To transfer. Though the idea of placing wacky made-up characters in a real-life context was carried over from Da Ali G Show—wherein Buzz Aldrin was once asked if he was upset that Michael Jackson got all the credit for inventing the moonwalk—Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat felt like something new, an attempt to square
To induce to join an opposing party or faction.

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MLA

"carry over." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/carry%20over. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

carry over. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/carry%20over

Chicago

"carry over." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/carry%20over.

BibTeX

@misc{carry_over_2026,
  title = {carry over},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/carry%20over},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}