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carry on

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phrasal verb
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theycarry on
he/she/itcarries on
present participlecarrying on
past tensecarried on
past participlecarried on

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] carry on something to continue doing something

    Carry on. You’re doing fine.

    He moved to London to carry on his work.

    For the moment we’ve been told to carry on as usual.

    carry on with:

    Just carry on with what you were doing.

    carry on doing something:

    If you carry on spending money like that, you’ll end up in debt.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  carry onThesaurus entry for this meaning of carry on
    1. a.
      [intransitive] to continue going in the same direction

      Turn left at the traffic lights and carry on up the high street.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  carry onThesaurus entry for this meaning of carry on
    2. b.
      [transitive] to continue something that someone else started

      Her daughter intends to carry on her mother’s research.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  carry onThesaurus entry for this meaning of carry on
  2. 2
    [intransitive] informal to behave in an angry, excited, or emotional way

    ‘It’s no good you carrying on, Mother,’ said Sally. ‘I’m not going to marry him.’

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  carry onThesaurus entry for this meaning of carry on
  3. 3
    [intransitive] [usually progressive] old-fashioned, showing disapproval if two people are carrying on, they are having a sexual relationship that you do not approve of
    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  carry onThesaurus entry for this meaning of carry on

This is the British English definition of carry on. View American English definition of carry on.

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