AAAmerican Accent US

carry on

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: carry ON. Saying “CARRY on” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

A glide appears. Two vowels meet, so American English slips a /j/ between them: “carry on” → “carry-yon”. You do not insert it deliberately — it falls out of not stopping between the words.

What it means

  1. To continue doing something.

    • “After the interruption, the speaker carried on with the presentation.”
    • “Just carry on as if nothing had happened.”

    Similar: continue, keep going

Don’t confuse it with

carry outTo perform a task, plan or order.

Carry ON means continue and takes no object. Carry OUT means perform a task and always takes one.

The particle logic

on

Something starts running, keeps running, or sits on a surface.

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More CARRY phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

carry out

To perform a task, plan or order.

carry off

To succeed at something difficult.

carry over

To transfer something to a later period.

carry away

To become so excited or emotional that you lose control — almost always as 'get carried away'.

carry on — meaning, examples & how to say it