01 n. One who, or that which, carries or conveys; a messenger.
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1.
One who, or that which, carries or conveys; a messenger.“The air which is but . . . a carrier of the sounds.” — Bacon.
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2.
One who is employed, or makes it his business, to carry goods for others for hire; a porter; a teamster.“The roads are crowded with carriers, laden with rich manufactures.” — Swift.
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3.
That which drives or carries; as: (a) A piece which communicates to an object in a lathe the motion of the face plate; a lathe dog. (b) A spool holder or bobbin holder in a braiding machine. (c) A movable piece in magazine guns which transfers the cartridge to a position from which it can be thrust into the barrel.(Mach.)
Phrases & compounds
Carrier pigeon —
a variety of the domestic pigeon used to convey letters from a distant point to to its home.
Carrier shell —
a univalve shell of the genus Phorus; -- so called because it fastens bits of stones and broken shells to its own shell, to such an extent as almost to conceal it.