Dictionary

carrier

noun car·ri·er \ˈker-ē-ər, ˈka-rē-\

Definition of CARRIER

1
:  one that carries :  bearer, messenger
2
a :  an individual or organization engaged in transporting passengers or goods for hire
b :  a transportation line carrying mail between post offices
c :  a postal employee who delivers or collects mail
d :  one that delivers newspapers
e :  an entity (as a hole or an electron) capable of carrying an electric charge
3
a :  a container for carrying
b :  a device or machine that carries :  conveyor
5
a :  a bearer and transmitter of a causative agent of an infectious disease; especially :  one who carries the causative agent of a disease systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it
b :  an individual (as one heterozygous for a recessive trait) having a specified gene that is not expressed or only weakly expressed in its phenotype
6
a :  a usually inactive accessory substance :  vehicle <a carrier for a drug or an insecticide>
b :  a substance (as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
7
a :  an electromagnetic wave or alternating current whose modulations are used as communications signals (as in radio, telephonic, or telegraphic transmissions)
b :  a telecommunication company
8
:  an organization acting as an insurer
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First Known Use of CARRIER

14th century

Other Electrical Engineering Terms

feedback, fuse, incandescent, noise, resonance

Rhymes with CARRIER

CARRIER Defined for Kids

carrier

noun car·ri·er \ˈker-ē-ər\

Definition of CARRIER for Kids

1
:  a person or thing that carries <a mail carrier>
2
:  a person or business that transports passengers or goods or provides a certain service
3
:  a person, animal, or plant that carries disease germs without showing symptoms and passes them on to others
Medical Dictionary

carrier

noun car·ri·er \ˈkar-ē-ər\

Medical Definition of CARRIER

1
a :  a person, animal, or plant that harbors and transmits the causative agent of an infectious disease; especially :  one who carries the causative agent systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it <a carrier of typhoid fever>—compare reservoir 2, vector 2 b :  an individual possessing a specified gene and capable of transmitting it to offspring but not expressing or only weakly expressing its phenotype; especially :  one that is heterozygous for a recessive factor
2
:  a usually inactive substance used in association with an active substance especially for aiding in the application of the active substance: as a :  a support for a catalyst b :  a vehicle serving especially as a diluent (as for an insecticide or a drug)
3
:  a substance (as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
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