carry away


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carry away

1. To cause one to become overly engrossed in one's enthusiasm, excitement, etc., to the point of making an excessive display of it. A noun or pronoun can be used between "carry" and "away." Sorry to ramble for so long—the subject of art just carries me away! A: "Mom, don't cry, this is good news!" B: "I know, but the thought of becoming a grandmother is just carrying me away!" Recalling her encounter with the actor certainly carried her away—I had to hear every single detail about it.
2. To steal something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "carry" and "away." I think someone carried away our new porch furniture—it's nowhere in sight! Ethel forgot to put that expensive necklace in the safe, and one of the party guests carried it away. You carried away that lipstick? Oh my gosh, I can't believe you didn't pay for it!
3. To physically move someone or something away from a certain location. A noun or pronoun can be used between "carry" and "away." Luckily, the lifeguard was able to rescue Dan after the current carried him away. As the water drained from the tub, it carried all the remaining bubbles away too. I can see her parachute, and it looks like she landed up ahead. Wow, the wind really carried her away.
See also: away, carry
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

carry someone or something away

to take or steal someone or something. Someone carried our lawn furniture away while we were on vacation. The kidnappers carried away the child when no one was looking.
See also: away, carry

carry someone away

[for someone or something] to cause a person to lose control. The excitement of the parade carried us all away. The fervor of the speech carried away the whole crowd.
See also: away, carry
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

carry away

Move or excite greatly. This expression is usually used in the passive, be carried away, as in The eulogy was so touching we were carried away, or Take it easy; don't get carried away and overdo. [Late 1500s]
See also: away, carry
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

carry away

v.
1. To pick something up and move away with it: The garbage collectors carried away the trash. I forgot to tie the canoe to the dock, and the river carried it away.
2. To steal something: The looters carried away everything in the store. The thieves carried the diamonds away.
3. To be moved to excess or be greatly excited. Used chiefly in the passive: The lovers were carried away by desire. Don't get carried away with the frosting; we need to save some for the other cake.
See also: away, carry
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Nowadays, working in a shelter for homeless families, I set up a crib scene with figures my daughter made so that children who have never known the real meaning of Christmas see it and carry away a memory of another child who had no home, but was loved.
As the jets disintegrate, they form about 100 daughter droplets that collectively carry away one-third of the original droplet's charge but just 0.3 percent of its mass, the researchers report.
A hydrogen atom results if, during that short time, the electron can slip to a lower orbit and the system can emit a photon to carry away the excess energy.
The escaping blobs would carry away angular momentum, meaning the galaxy would spin down while shrinking its extended disk.
Convection currents bring fresh chemical fuel into the flame's luminous combustion region and carry away hot products, giving the flame its distinctive profile.
Not only do they break down and carry away dung, but in the process they also aerate soil and enhance the ability of water to percolate into the ground.
17 SCIENCE, is an oblique impact by the incoming object, vaporizing enough of itself to form high-speed vapor jets or plumes that can carry away, or entrain, surface rocks and accelerate them to speeds faster than Martian escape velocity.