carry
/ˈkæri/
Very CommonTo win a game largely through one person's individual performance while teammates underperform.
Can be self-congratulatory, a complaint about teammates, or a genuine compliment. Context tells you which.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | bro carried so hard, rest of the team had like 2 kills combined | One player won the game almost single-handedly while teammates barely participated. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | getting carried in ranked and calling it a win lol | Won but did not actually perform well, only benefited from a better teammate. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 03 | i carried this group project so hard i might as well have submitted it alone | Did nearly all the work in a shared assignment while others contributed little. | |
| 04 | she literally carried the whole presentation, gave her flowers after | One person performed so well that the presentation succeeded because of them. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- One player performed noticeably better than their team and the team still won.
- You want to compliment someone who did the bulk of the work.
- You are complaining that your teammates did not help and you had to win alone.
- Describing someone shouldering a group project or task by themselves.
Do not use it when
- The whole team performed well together.Use “team diff” instead.
- You mean someone helped but not to a dominant degree.Use “clutched up” instead.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Originated in MOBA games like Dota and League of Legends where the 'carry' role is a specific position responsible for winning the late game. The verb form spread to all competitive gaming genres.
- First seen
- mid-2000s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/carryUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0