carry oneself

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

carry oneself (third-person singular simple present carries oneself, present participle carrying oneself, simple past and past participle carried oneself)

1. (idiomatic) To move, especially emphasizing the manner in which one moves.
   • 1725 (indicated as 1726), [Daniel Defoe], “Letter XXI. Of the Tradesman Letting His Wife be Acquainted with His Business.”, in The Complete English Tradesman, in Familiar Letters; Directing Him in All the Several Parts and Progressions of Trade. , volume I, London: Charles Rivington , →OCLC, page 363:

     [Y]et all the vvhile they are the tradeſmens vvives, they endeavour to preſerve the distinction of their fancied character; carry themſelves as if they thought they were ſtill above their ſtation, […]

   • 1876 May – 1877 July, Anthony Trollope, “The Paragon’s Party at Bragton”, in The American Senator , volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1877, →OCLC, page 78:

     She was thin, but always carried herself bolt upright, and would never even lean back in her chair.

   • 1915, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 22, in Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo:

     He was carrying himself with less than his usual stoop.

2. (idiomatic) To behave, especially with respect to how one's speech, body language, facial expressions, and grooming convey one's opinion concerning oneself.
   • 1895, John Kendrick Bangs, chapter 11, in Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica:

     "Do I not carry myself well in the hour of defeat?" / "You do, Your Majesty." / "Am I pale, Le B—?" / "No—no—oh, no, not at all, Sire." / "Tell me the truth, Le B—. We must not let the enemy find us broken when they arrive. How do I look? Out with it."

   • 1921, Margaret Pedler, chapter 5, in The Splendid Folly:

     [S]he carried herself with a little touch of hauteur—an air of aloofness, as it were.

Synonyms

• (behave): bear oneself

Translations

See also

• deportment