carrying on

verb

Definition of carrying onnext
present participle of carry on
1
as in acting out
to behave badly a toddler crying and carrying on in the store

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in persisting
to continue despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement she bravely carried on despite the loss of her husband

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in operating
to look after and make decisions about carries on a business and still manages to run the household

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of carrying on Heitz Cellar’s current winemaker Brittany Sherwood is carrying on the tradition of stunning selections by using only organic and biodynamic Napa Valley grapes. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026 What began as a single title has since grown into more than 400 books and counting, with Mike Berenstain now carrying on the family legacy. — Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Established in 2022 with the support of Prine’s family and Oh Boy Records, the award celebrates the legacy of the late songwriter as seen through a living talent carrying on his work. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 Carnegie Deli continues today under the leadership of the brand’s CEO and third-generation owner Sarri Harper, who’s carrying on her grandfather Milton Parker’s legacy. — Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 22 Aug. 2026 Not just within your four walls or your own locations, but how much inventory is someone else carrying on your behalf? — Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Twain and Marie-Anne became close friends, and Twain was shocked to learn that Marie-Anne and Lange had been allegedly carrying on an extramarital affair—losing both her husband and her best friend in one fell swoop. — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 31 July 2026 The city wasn't in any immediate danger, and business was carrying on like usual, Letz said. — ABC News, 25 July 2026 There are multiple people, all around the lounge, carrying on full-volume business conversations as if the rest of us are simply part of their office. — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carrying on
  1. acting out
  2. persisting
  3. operating
  4. disobeying
  5. managing
  6. acting up
  7. supervising
  8. overseeing
Verb
  • Traditional Rocky Horror movie showings include a costumed cast acting out the events on screen, with bags of props handed out for audience participation during certain scenes.
    — Anna Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Garcia lends the whole song theater-kid interpretation, essentially acting out the lyrics in pantomime, grasping out in front of her, clutching her face.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of acting out
Verb
  • The cyberpunk author was suggesting that our world encompasses multiple temporalities, the experience of which is not uniform; for Cao, this might take the form of a shamanic belief persisting in a hypermodern setting.
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • At the Port of Long Beach, its busiest container terminal had reported problems with some ship-to-shore cranes in July, with the backlogs persisting into August.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of persisting
Verb
  • Chaparral flew without a pilot onboard while operating under Air Traffic Control oversight, demonstrating its ability to conduct cargo missions within the National Airspace System.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On Tuesday, Zelenskyy issued an ominous warning to airlines operating in Russia that the risks could continue.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of operating
Verb
  • The violations are disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming an officer.
    — Charlie D'Agata, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Santana-Mateo was booked on charges of breach of peace, engaging police in a pursuit, disobeying the direction of officer, reckless driving, failure to obey a stop sign, failure to drive right, failure to obey a traffic control signal and driving the wrong way on a one way.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2026
Definition of disobeying
Verb
  • Having a healthy lawn means managing soil conditions for the roots, mowing properly, and strengthening the density of the grass by overseeding.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Asked about their firm’s primary hurdle in managing the current trade landscape, the vast majority (57 percent) said policy uncertainty, like tariffs changing with little notice, as their foremost challenge.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of managing
Verb
  • Baye continued acting up until 2023.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 18 Apr. 2026
  • The capsule’s toilet is already acting up.
    — Marcia Dunn, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
Definition of acting up
Verb
  • The jumper who was supervising the box that day, Joey Cowen, confirmed the request.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • While not directly involved in controlling the system, humans give Spike rules of engagement all the while, supervising the entire system during operation.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of supervising
Verb
  • Ternus, 50, previously served as senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple, overseeing the production of popular products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
    — Greta Cross, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Ajay Arora was hired this year as VP of product management, overseeing TV and sports experiences at YouTube, including YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of overseeing

Browse Nearby Words

carrying off
carrying on
carrying out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Carrying on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carrying%20on. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of matriculate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All