plural carriers
2
a
: an individual or organization engaged in transporting passengers or goods for hire
b
: a transportation line carrying mail between post offices
c
: a postal employee who delivers or collects mail
d
: one that delivers newspapers
e
: an entity (such as a hole or an electron) capable of carrying an electric charge
3
a
: a container for carrying
b
: a device or machine that carries : conveyor
4
5
a
: a bearer and transmitter of a causative agent of an infectious disease
especially
: one who carries the causative agent of a disease systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it compare reservoir sense 3a, vector entry 1 sense 2a
b
: an individual (such as one heterozygous for a recessive trait) having a specified gene that is not expressed or only weakly expressed in its phenotype
6
a
: a usually inactive accessory substance : vehicle
a carrier for a drug or an insecticide
b
: a substance (such as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
7
a
: an electromagnetic wave or alternating current whose modulations are used as communications signals (as in radio, telephonic, or telegraphic transmissions)
b
: a telecommunication company
8
: an organization acting as an insurer
Examples of carrier in a Sentence
I put the pet carrier in the car.
The airline is the nation's largest carrier.
Mosquitoes can be carriers of malaria.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Airlines for America trade group said in a statement that its member carriers already abide by and often exceed regulation on consumer protection.
—
Allyson Versprille, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
On the other end of the spectrum, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time percentage of major U.S. carriers with just over 82.6 percent of all flights leaving when they were supposed to.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2024
Delta Air Lines, which employs close to 1,000 individuals in South Florida and was Miami International Airport’s second busiest airline last year, is raising employees pay, the carrier said on Monday.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
Its 2024 list of the best U.S. airlines compares nine large airlines and one regional carrier across 13 factors affecting affordability, reliability, comfort and safety.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024
Several of the big carriers offer a $10 per day flat rate option.
—Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
To reduce that risk, AT&T advises also setting up a unique passcode that's needed to prevent significant account changes such as porting phone numbers to another carrier.
—Kelvin Chan, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
The department did not specify which cellular carrier was responsible.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
In fact, many carriers are suspending routes to and from Israel for several months, while other airlines are changing the flight paths of planes scheduled to fly through the area so as not to pass over Iran—a move that could lengthen flight times, depending on the destination.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Apr. 2024
Allyson Versprille, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
On the other end of the spectrum, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time percentage of major U.S. carriers with just over 82.6 percent of all flights leaving when they were supposed to.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2024
Delta Air Lines, which employs close to 1,000 individuals in South Florida and was Miami International Airport’s second busiest airline last year, is raising employees pay, the carrier said on Monday.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
Its 2024 list of the best U.S. airlines compares nine large airlines and one regional carrier across 13 factors affecting affordability, reliability, comfort and safety.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024
Several of the big carriers offer a $10 per day flat rate option.
—Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
To reduce that risk, AT&T advises also setting up a unique passcode that's needed to prevent significant account changes such as porting phone numbers to another carrier.
—Kelvin Chan, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
The department did not specify which cellular carrier was responsible.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
In fact, many carriers are suspending routes to and from Israel for several months, while other airlines are changing the flight paths of planes scheduled to fly through the area so as not to pass over Iran—a move that could lengthen flight times, depending on the destination.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carrier.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near carrier
Cite this Entry
“Carrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carrier. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
carrier
noun
car·ri·er
ˈkar-ē-ər 
1
: one that carries
mail carrier
2
: a person or firm engaged in transporting passengers or goods
3
a
: a bearer and transmitter of disease germs
especially
: one who carries germs of a disease (as typhoid fever) in his or her system but is immune to the disease
b
: one who has a gene for a trait or condition (as sickle-cell anemia) that is not expressed in his or her system
4
: an electric wave or alternating current that is used to send signals (as for radio, television, telephone, and telegraph)
Medical Definition
carrier
noun
car·ri·er
ˈkar-ē-ər
1
a
: a person, animal, or plant that harbors and transmits the causative agent of an infectious disease
especially
: one who carries the causative agent systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it
a carrier of typhoid fever
compare reservoir sense 2, vector entry 1 sense 2
b
: an individual possessing a specified gene and capable of transmitting it to offspring but not expressing or only weakly expressing its phenotype
especially
: one that is heterozygous for a recessive factor
2
: a usually inactive substance used in association with an active substance especially for aiding in the application of the active substance: as
a
: a support for a catalyst
b
: a vehicle serving especially as a diluent (as for an insecticide or a drug)
3
: a substance (as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
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