carry-over
/ˈker-ē-ˌō-vər How to pronounce carryover (audio) ˈka-rē-/ (ame, mw)
carry-over — idiom
1. to take an event, task, or allowance that was meant for one period and reschedul
to take an event, task, or allowance that was meant for one period and reschedule or save it for a later one — for example, carrying over unused holiday leave into next year, or carrying over an item on a meeting agenda to the following week.
Amina carried over five unused holiday days from last year to this summer.
carry over + [leave/days] into a later period
The team carried over their Tuesday strategy meeting to Thursday because of the typhoon.
Diego asked the chairperson to carry over his proposal to the next board session.
The parish council carried over the unspent flood-relief grant of £15,000 into the next budget cycle.
Siti's bookshop carried over its winter clearance into March, with half-price travel guides still piled in the window.
- bring forward
to move a planned event to an earlier time or date
用法筆記
Common in British English for talking about holiday allowance and meeting agendas. In American English, 'roll over' is more frequent for leave and budget contexts.
常見錯誤
2. When a feeling, mood, or tension from one area of your life carries over into an
When a feeling, mood, or tension from one area of your life carries over into another, it does not stay contained — it spreads and has a real effect there, like workplace stress showing up in your behaviour at home, or excitement from a morning success lifting your whole day.
Chioma's anger after the phone call carried over into her dinner with friends.
[feeling] carried over into [different context]
The frosty silence between Mateo and his brother carried over into Sunday lunch at their grandmother's kitchen table.
Ingrid found that her worries about the exam carried over into her weekend plans.
After the bonus was scrapped, low morale in the sales team carried over into the warehouse, doubling packing errors.
Hiroshi's good mood from the promotion news carried over into the whole week.
- spill over
nearly a synonym; slightly more vivid with the image of liquid overflowing
- bleed into
stronger, more negative — suggests harm or unwanted mixing
- seep into
slow, gradual, often unnoticed spread of feelings or attitudes
- compartmentalise
to keep different parts of your life strictly separate
用法筆記
The subject is almost always an emotion, attitude, or interpersonal dynamic — not a physical object. Distinguish from phrasal verb sense 1 (CONTINUE INTO), which is about qualities or states simply existing across settings, not actively affecting them.
常見錯誤
carry-over — phrasal verb
- carry-overbase form
- carry-overs3rd person singular
- carry-overing-ing form
- carry-overedpast simple
1. When a quality, pattern, or way of doing things carries over from one setting to
When a quality, pattern, or way of doing things carries over from one setting to another, it stays present rather than stopping at the boundary — like a design idea from an older model appearing in the new one, or a classroom rule that also applies in the playground.
The warm, friendly tone of the small clinic carried over into the new larger hospital.
[quality] carried over into [new setting]
The curved glass edge and the slim aluminium frame from last year's tablet carried over into the newest model.
The paper-lantern festival from the old riverside village carried over into life among the city tower blocks.
Coach Ndlovu wanted the back line's tight marking to carry over into the second half under the floodlights.
Nora noticed that her son's tidy habits from school carried over into his bedroom at home.
- stop at
to end at a boundary and not go further
文法句型
carry over into + [new situation]
用法筆記
Intransitive. The subject is the quality or feature that continues — you do not 'carry over something' in this sense. For the transitive counterpart (you deliberately move something to a new context), see sense 2 (REUSE ELSEWHERE).
常見錯誤
2. to take a skill, method, resource, or piece of knowledge that you gained in one
to take a skill, method, resource, or piece of knowledge that you gained in one situation and deliberately put it to use somewhere else — like carrying over cooking techniques you learned at home into a restaurant kitchen, or carrying over leftover materials from one project to the next.
Fatima carried over her teaching methods from primary school into the adult classes.
carry over + [skill/method] into [new context]
The builder carried over leftover timber from the first house to the second project.
Kai carried over the spreadsheet skills he learned in finance to his new marketing role.
The chef carried over several sauce recipes from her previous restaurant.
Anya carried over all her contacts, Wi-Fi passwords, and photo albums to the new handset.
- transfer
more formal and general; common in professional and educational language
- apply
focuses on putting something to use, not necessarily moving it between settings
- bring across
less formal; suggests physically or metaphorically moving something with you
- leave behind
to abandon or not take something when moving to a new situation
文法句型
carry over + [something]
carry [something] over
用法筆記
Always transitive — you need an object (what you are carrying over). The object can be physical (materials, goods) or abstract (skills, knowledge, data). Can be separated: 'carry the skills over'.
常見錯誤
3. to move a planned event, task, or deadline to a later date — usually because som
to move a planned event, task, or deadline to a later date — usually because something prevented it from happening on time, or because more preparation is needed — like carrying over an agenda item to next week's meeting.
The organisers carried over three outdoor events to the following weekend because of heavy rain.
carry over + [event] to [later date]
Amir carried over his unfinished report to Monday after the power cut on Friday.
The town council voted to carry the bridge-strengthening work over to the next financial year after the summer floods.
Zuri asked to carry over her presentation slot to the afternoon because she felt unwell.
The school's budget committee carried over the unspent music-department grant of £3,000 until the new term.
- bring forward
to reschedule something to an earlier date
文法句型
carry over + [event/task]
carry [event] over
用法筆記
Transitive. The object is the thing being postponed (meeting, task, budget). More formal than 'put off' and often used in administrative or business English, especially in British contexts.
常見錯誤
4. In bookkeeping or accounting, to take the final sum shown at the foot of a page
In bookkeeping or accounting, to take the final sum shown at the foot of a page or column and place it at the head of the next one, so the record continues without interruption.
The clerk carried over the day's total from page five to the top of page six.
carry over + [total] from [page] to [next page]
Deepa forgot to carry over the subtotal, so the final balance did not match.
The accountant carried the running balance over to a fresh ledger at the start of the month.
The senior clerk told Priya to carry over each column total before turning to the next ledger page.
The faded ledger from the 1920s showed how the village shopkeeper carried daily totals over by hand in blue ink.
- carry forward
near-identical meaning in accounting; often used interchangeably
- post
formal accounting term for transferring entries between ledgers
- carry back
in tax accounting, to apply a current loss to a previous year's income
文法句型
carry over + [amount/total]
carry [amount] over
用法筆記
Domain-specific to accounting and bookkeeping. The object is always a number or sum. Not used in everyday conversation unless talking about accounts.
常見錯誤
carry-over — noun
1. the action of moving something — money, leave, a habit, a total — from one time
the action of moving something — money, leave, a habit, a total — from one time period or situation into the next, so that it continues rather than ending at the original cut-off point.
The hospital trust allows a carry-over of up to ten unused holiday days each year for its nursing staff.
carry-over of [leave/days]
The carry-over of the school's £25,000 surplus from last year helped fund the new science lab equipment.
carry-over of [budget/funds]
Olu was relieved that the carry-over of his engineering credits from the polytechnic went through without any modules lost.
A carry-over of bread-making traditions from the old Anatolian village shaped the community's autumn harvest festival.
- transfer
broader; works for any movement of something between places or people, not only across time
- continuation
focuses on the fact something keeps going, not the act of moving it
- cut-off
a point where something ends and does not continue into the next period
用法筆記
Often used with 'of' to specify what is being carried over (a carry-over of funds / leave / traditions). More abstract than sense 2 (which names the thing itself rather than the action).
常見錯誤
2. a thing that stays present from an earlier time — like leftover stock from the p
a thing that stays present from an earlier time — like leftover stock from the previous season still sitting on the shelf, or an old rule that remains in force even after the policy was revised.
The shop had several carry-overs from the autumn collection still on the racks in spring.
carry-over = leftover stock
That old rule about wearing hats indoors is a carry-over from the school's founding days.
carry-over from [earlier period]
Elena spotted three carry-overs from the 2019 edition in the updated biology textbook, including an outdated population graph.
A few carry-overs of Victorian architecture still stand among the modern office blocks.
用法筆記
Plural 'carry-overs' is common when referring to multiple leftover items. This sense names the thing itself — not the action (which is sense 1).
3. in tax law, a part of a deduction, credit, or net operating loss that was too la
in tax law, a part of a deduction, credit, or net operating loss that was too large to be fully used in one year and is therefore applied to reduce the tax owed in a future year.
The bakery chain applied a carry-over of the previous year's £180,000 operating loss to cut its corporation tax bill.
carry-over of [loss] reduces tax
Talia's accountant explained that the unused charitable deduction could be taken as a carry-over.
[deduction] as a carry-over
The textile factory reported a tax carry-over of nearly two million ringgit on its annual filing.
Mei-Lin's accountant said her capital loss carry-over from the closed restaurant could offset rental income for up to eight years.
- carryforward
alternative one-word spelling used in some accounting standards
- tax loss carry-forward
full formal term used in tax legislation
- carryback
applying a current loss to reduce a previous year's taxable income
用法筆記
Strictly a technical tax term. Learners are unlikely to need this sense unless reading financial documents or tax legislation. Compare 'carryback', which applies a loss to a previous year instead.
常見錯誤
carry-over — verb
- carry-overpresent simple I / you / we / they
- carry-overs3rd person singular
- carry-overing-ing form
- carry-overedpast simple
1. in bookkeeping, to take a number or sum from the bottom of one column or page an
in bookkeeping, to take a number or sum from the bottom of one column or page and place it at the top of the next one within the same account record.
The junior clerk carried over the debit column total from page twelve to page thirteen of the warehouse ledger.
carry over + [total] from [page] to [next page]
Kwame carefully carried the closing balance over to the top of the new ledger sheet.
separable: carry [balance] over
Haruki forgot to carry over the subtotal on page seven, and the year-end reconciliation came out £4,300 short.
The frayed cashbook from 1958 showed how the mill's bookkeeper carried figures over by hand in faded violet ink.
- carry forward
identical meaning; more common in modern accounting software labelling
- post
formal term for recording an entry in a ledger
文法句型
carry over + [amount/figure]
carry [amount] over
用法筆記
Domain-specific to accounting. The object is always numeric. Essentially synonymous with phrasal verb sense 4 (FORWARD TOTAL) — the verb entry treats 'carry over' as a single verb lemma, while the phrasal verb entry treats it as a multi-word verb.
2. when a shop or trader keeps unsold goods from one season and offers them for sal
when a shop or trader keeps unsold goods from one season and offers them for sale again in a later season rather than clearing them out.
The boutique carried over its summer dresses and put them on the racks again in spring.
carry over + [goods] for another season
Maeve decided to carry over the unsold winter coats instead of discounting them heavily.
The bookshop on Canal Street carried over last year's bestselling cookbook into the spring, stacking copies beside the till.
Noor carried over three crates of unsold mangoes from the Thursday market to the Saturday stall.
- clear out
to sell off all remaining stock, usually at a discount, at the end of a season
文法句型
carry over + [goods/stock]
用法筆記
Specific to retail and commerce. The object is always stock or goods. Rare in everyday conversation — 'keep for next season' or 'hold over' are more common alternatives.
3. in tax accounting, to use a financial loss or unused credit from one year to red
in tax accounting, to use a financial loss or unused credit from one year to reduce the amount of income on which tax must be paid in a following year.
Rafael's accountant carried over the seafood restaurant's £47,000 operating loss to offset next year's profits from the new delivery service.
carry over + [loss] to reduce future tax
Anja's accountant advised her to carry over the unused charitable credit into the next filing period.
Yara's accountant explained she could carry over the firm's capital losses from the closed warehouse for up to five years.
Sanjay bought a refrigerated van for his catering business and carried over the excess allowance to the following year.
- carry forward
identical in tax contexts; preferred in UK and international accounting
- defer
broader term for postponing any tax liability to a later period
- carry back
to apply a current loss to reduce a previous year's taxable income
文法句型
carry over + [loss/credit/deduction]
用法筆記
Technical tax term. The object is a loss, credit, or deduction — never an asset or income. Compare noun sense 3, which names the carry-over itself rather than the action of applying it.
常見錯誤
4. when a problem, feeling, or pattern carries over from one chapter of life or pha
when a problem, feeling, or pattern carries over from one chapter of life or phase of a process into the next without being dealt with or resolved in between — like distrust from a past relationship carrying over into a new one.
Budi's fear of failure carried over from his school days into his adult career.
[fear] carried over from [earlier stage] into [later stage]
Resentment from the sacked supervisor's harsh regime carried over into the new manager's first months on the factory floor.
Several glitches from the booking app trial carried over into the launch, frustrating users on the first morning.
Tom noticed that his daughter's shyness carried over from primary school into secondary.
- resolve
to deal with a problem so it no longer continues
文法句型
carry over into + [next stage]
用法筆記
Intransitive. The subject is what persists (a feeling, problem, or pattern). More focused on temporal stages than idiom sense 2 (SPILL OVER), which is about crossing between different life domains (work → home) rather than time periods.