2 syllables: car, ried. Stress on car.
KAR-eed
/ˈkæɹid/
carried is pronounced KAR-eed (/ˈkæɹid/). It has two syllables (car-ried), with the stress on "car". Carried is the past tense of carry, meaning to have borne or conveyed something from one place to another. In everyday speech it often sounds like two syllables with a slight vowel reduction in informal connected speech, and can function as a verb in simple past or as an adjective in phrases like “carried interest.” The core meaning centers on movement or bearing something from a starting point to a goal.
Carried is the past tense of carry, meaning to have borne or conveyed something from one place to another. In everyday speech it often sounds like two syllables with a slight vowel reduction in informal connected speech, and can function as a verb in simple past or as an adjective in phrases like “carried interest.” The core meaning centers on movement or bearing something from a starting point to a goal.
"She carried the box up the stairs without help."
"The rumor was carried by word of mouth through the village."
"He carried the team on his back during the final minutes."
Phonetically, it’s /ˈkær id/ in careful speech or /ˈkæɹi d/ depending on accent, with primary stress on the first syllable. In US English you’ll often hear [ˈkæɹi̯d] with a slightly reduced second vowel, approaching a schwa in rapid speech. Start with a strong /k/ + /æ/ (like cat), then an /ɹ/ or /ɹ/ depending on the dialect, followed by a light /i/ or /ɪ/ and a final /d/. Audio references: you can compare recordings on Forvo or YouGlish by searching “carried.”
Common errors: 1) Stopping the word after /kæ/ and omitting the /r/; ensure you articulate /r/ clearly in rhotic accents. 2) Leaving the second syllable as a full /eɪ/ or /eɪd/; usually it's a short /ɪ/ or a reduced syllable. 3) Over-articulating the final /d/ in fast speech, making it sound like ‘car-ried’ with a hard stop. Tip: practice /ˈkærɪd/ in connected speech, then add a light glide before /d/ for more natural speech.
In US English, you have rhotic /ɹ/ and a clear /æ/; the second syllable often reduces to a schwa or short /ɪ/. UK: non-rhotic speakers may drop or weaken /r/ before a vowel, so it may sound like /ˈkæɪd/ or /ˈkærɪd/ with less r-coloring. Australia: similar to US but with slightly flatter vowel quality; /æ/ remains prominent and /ɹ/ is less retroflex; final /d/ remains. Focus on rhotic vs non-rhotic behavior and the vowel quality in the first syllable (/æ/).
Because of the rapid vowel reduction in the second syllable and the subtle /ɹ/ in the first syllable for non-rhotic speakers. The combination of a stressed first syllable with a quickly reduced second syllable challenges timing and muscle memory: you must fuse /k/ + /ær/ smoothly into a light /ɪ/ or /ə/ before the final /d/. Mastery requires practicing connected speech and listening for consonant-vowel transitions in rapid delivery.
There is no silent letter in carried; all letters map to sounds in careful enunciation. In connected speech, the /ɪ/ of the second syllable can be very lightly pronounced or reduced toward a schwa, which might make it feel quieter, but you still produce the /ɪ/ or /ə/ sound in many speakers. Ensure you don’t skip the second syllable entirely; you’re aiming for a light, quick second syllable rather than a silent one.
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Carried derives from the verb carry, from Old English cerran or carr(an) in some Germanic branches, ultimately tracing to the Proto-Germanic kar‑ and the Proto-Indo-European root ker- ‘to move, to bear.’ In Middle English, carry evolved from a simple transitive action meaning to bear or support to its modern sense of transporting or conveying. The past tense carried attaches the regular -ed suffix, mirroring other English strong verbs that adopted a regularized past form over time. First attested in forms such as carried in late Old English/early Middle English texts, the usage expanded beyond physical transport to encompass intangible conveyance (ideas, influence, emotions). Over centuries, the pronunciation settled into a two-syllable pattern with a final /d/ in careful enunciation, while rapid, connected speech often yields a reduced second syllable in casual registers. The semantic breadth broadened in legal, financial, and idiomatic contexts (carried interest, carried forward). Today, carried remains highly productive as both a transitive verb and a past participle/adjective in compound phrases, with stable spelling though pronunciation varies by accent in connected speech.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "carried" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "carried"
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