Carry

Carry is a versatile term used across many domains to describe the act of bearing, holding, or transporting something, as well as the capacity to do so. In general usage, to carry means to support weight or to convey objects from one place to another. It can also refer to possessing or maintaining something over a period, as in carrying debt, carrying a tune, or carrying an idea.

In transportation and logistics, carrying denotes the movement of goods by road, rail, sea, or air. The term carriage is closely related and appears in shipping and rail contexts. Carrying capacity is a key concept in ecology, urban planning, and logistics, describing the maximum load, population, or demand a system can sustain without degradation.

In finance and investing, carry describes the return or cost of holding an asset over time. The cost of carry includes financing costs, storage, and insurance minus any income such as yields or dividends. A positive carry occurs when holding the asset provides a net benefit, while a negative carry occurs when costs exceed benefits. Carry trades exploit interest rate differentials by borrowing in low-rate currencies to invest in higher-rate assets, seeking positive carry over time. In derivatives markets, the term is used to explain how futures prices relate to current spot prices through storage and financing considerations.

In gaming and esports, a carry refers to a player who can significantly influence the outcome by delivering disproportionate performance, often carrying teammates to victory. In tax and accounting, carry concepts appear in carryforward or carryover rules, which allow losses or credits to be used in future periods to offset taxable income.