- a person, thing, or organization employed to carry goods, passengers, etc
- a mechanism by which something is carried or moved, such as a device for transmitting rotation from the faceplate of a lathe to the workpiece
another name for vector - a person or animal that, without having any symptoms of a disease, is capable of transmitting it to others
- Also called: charge carrier an electron, ion, or hole that carries the charge in a conductor or semiconductor
short for carrier wave - the inert solid on which a dyestuff is adsorbed in forming a lake
- a substance, such as kieselguhr or asbestos, used to support a catalyst
See aircraft carrier - a breed of domestic fancy pigeon having a large walnut-shaped wattle over the beak; a distinct variety of pigeon from the homing or carrier pigeon
See also carrier pigeon a US name for roof rack
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
car•ri•er /ˈkæriɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a person or thing that carries:A newspaper carrier delivers the local paper on weekdays.
- Transportan individual or company engaged in transporting passengers or goods for profit.
- Businessan insurance company.
- aircraft carrier.
- Immunologyan individual carrying a disease who may be immune to the disease but transmits it to others.
car•ri•er
(kar′ē ər),USA pronunciation n.
- a person or thing that carries.
- an employee of the post office who carries mail.
- a person who delivers newspapers, magazines, etc., on a particular route.
- Insurance[Transp.]
- Transportan individual or company, as a railroad or steamship line, engaged in transporting passengers or goods for profit.
- TransportSee common carrier.
- Insurance, Businessa company that acts or functions as an underwriter or insurer.
- Transporta frame, usually of metal, attached to a vehicle for carrying skis, luggage, etc., as on top of an automobile or station wagon;
rack. - See aircraft carrier.
- Immunologyan individual harboring specific pathogenic organisms who, though often immune to the agent harbored, may transmit the disease to others.
- Genetics
- an individual possessing an unexpressed, recessive trait.
- the bearer of a defective gene.
- Radio and TelevisionAlso called car′rier wave′. the wave whose amplitude, frequency, or phase is to be varied or modulated to transmit a signal.
- Mechanical Engineering[Mach.]a mechanism by which something is carried or moved.
- Chemistrya catalytic agent that brings about a transfer of an element or group of atoms from one compound to another.
- PhysicsAlso called charge carrier. any of the mobile electrons or holes in a metal or semiconductor that enable it to conduct electrical charge.
- Chemistry[Physical Chem.]a usually inactive substance that acts as a vehicle for an active substance.
- BirdsSee carrier pigeon.
- Fine Art[Painting.]base1 (def. 15b).
- 1350–1400; Middle English; see carry, -er1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
carrier /ˈkærɪə/ n
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Carrier /ˈkærɪə/ n
- a member of an Athapaskan Native North American people of British Columbia