carry over
"carry-over" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“carry over” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see carry, over.
Corpus desk
Index EN-carry-over · carry over · English
carry over · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | carry over |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “carry over” in English
Rare enough to double-check
carry over is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for carry over, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 17th century; listed for instance in Elisha Coles' 1676 dictionary as a translation of transfer, thereby possibly a calque of Latin transfero; compare Dutch overdragen, German übertragen. The correct English form is carry over, spelled C-A-R-R-Y- -O-V-E-R.
Definition
- 1Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see carry, over.
- 2To transfer (something) to a later point in time.
- 3To carry; to transfer an excess quantity to the next column of digits.
- 4To continue cooking after being removed from a heat source.
- 5To transfer.
- 6To induce to join an opposing party or faction.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how carry over appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
We carried her over the bridge.
The rent was carried over to December.
Etymology
Attested since the 17th century; listed for instance in Elisha Coles' 1676 dictionary as a translation of transfer, thereby possibly a calque of Latin transfero; compare Dutch overdragen, German übertragen.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.