Carrier: Anything or Anyone That Carries
A carrier transports something — an airline, a shipping firm, a warship for aircraft, a bag, or a person who carries a disease without showing it.
A carrier carries. The word is the agent noun of a very plain verb, and English has attached it to airlines, warships, plastic bags and telephone networks. Its most consequential sense is medical: a carrier hosts a pathogen or a gene without necessarily being ill.
- A transport company. *The carrier lost the shipment.*
- An airline. *A budget carrier.*
- A warship for aircraft. *An aircraft carrier.*
- Someone hosting a disease or gene. *A carrier of the gene.*
- A bag or holder. *A plastic carrier bag.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | carrier | A national carrier. |
| Verb | carry | Carry it upstairs. |
| Compound | carrier bag | A reusable carrier bag. |
| Compound | aircraft carrier | A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. |
| Compound | carrier pigeon | A message by carrier pigeon. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The carrier delivers on Saturdays.Logistics — a courier or freight company.
- She is a carrier but has no symptoms.The medical sense — infectious or genetic.
- Bring a carrier bag for the shopping.British; Americans say plastic bag or grocery bag.
The medical sense in more detail
- Asymptomatic carrier — infected and infectious, but not ill
- Genetic carrier — has one copy of a recessive gene and can pass it on
- Vector — an organism that transmits a pathogen between hosts, such as a mosquito
- The famous case is Mary Mallon, a cook who spread typhoid without ever falling ill
From *carry*, from Old North French *carier*, to transport in a vehicle, from *car*, a cart. The same Latin root *carrus* eventually gives car, cargo, charge and carriage.
Carrier or courier?
Courier usually means a fast door-to-door service for small items. Carrier is the broader word for any transport company.
Are carrier pigeons the same as homing pigeons?
In practice yes. Carrier pigeon is the popular name; the birds used for messages are homing pigeons.