What does 'carry through' mean in a work meeting?

'Carry through' means to complete a task or plan. When someone says 'carry through with the plan,' they mean finish what was started and don't stop before it's done.

Is 'carry through' the same as 'follow through'?

Yes, 'carry through' and 'follow through' are very similar. Both mean completing something you started. 'Follow through' is slightly more common in American English, but both work the same way.

How do I use 'carry through' in a sentence?

Use 'carry through with' plus a noun: 'We need to carry through with the plan.' Or separate it: 'Let's carry this through.' Both forms are correct.

Can I say 'carry through it'?

No, 'carry through it' is not correct. Say 'carry it through' instead. When using pronouns like 'it' or 'this,' put them between 'carry' and 'through.'

Is 'carry through' formal or informal?

'Carry through' is neutral. It works in both formal documents and casual Slack messages. It's appropriate for standups, planning meetings, and written reports.

What's the difference between 'carry through' and 'carry out'?

'Carry out' means to perform or execute a task. 'Carry through' emphasizes completing something from start to finish, especially when it's difficult. 'Carry through' suggests persistence.

What Does "Carry Through" Mean at Work?

Commonness
Versatility
Formality	CasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticNeutral
Region

Say it like this

✓We need to carry this through to completion.

✓I'll carry through with the migration plan this sprint.

✓The team carried through despite the deadline pressure.

✓Can you carry through on the refactoring we discussed?

✓Let's make sure we carry this through before the release.

Real examples

Standup

"I'm going to carry through with the database migration today."

Slack message

"Hey team, let's make sure we carry through on the testing plan before Friday."

GitHub PR

"This PR carries through the refactoring we started in #245."

Jira ticket

"Carry through the implementation as outlined in the technical spec."

Retrospective

"We didn't carry through on our action items from last sprint."

Sprint planning

"We need to carry through with the API changes this sprint."

Pair programming

"Let's carry through with this approach and see if it works."

Don't say this

✕I will carry through the task tomorrow.

✓I will carry through with the task tomorrow.— Use 'carry through with' when followed by a noun. Without 'with', it sounds incomplete.

✕We carried through it successfully.

✓We carried it through successfully.— When using a pronoun like 'it', place it between 'carry' and 'through'.

✕Let's carry through this until next week.

✓Let's carry this through by next week.— 'Until' doesn't work here. Use 'by' for deadlines or omit the time phrase.

Other forms

base form

carry through

"We need to carry through with this plan."

third person

carries through

"She always carries through on her commitments."

past tense

carried through

"The team carried through despite the challenges."

present participle

carrying through

"We're carrying through with the migration."

past participle

carried through

"The project was carried through successfully."

Often used with

carry through with a planMost common: completing a plan you made

carry through to completionEmphasizes finishing completely

carry through on commitmentsKeeping promises you made to the team

carry through despite challengesContinuing even when things get hard

carry something throughSeparable form with object in the middle

Similar words

follow throughVery similar; slightly more common in US English

completeSimpler, more direct; works in any context

see throughSimilar meaning; 'see it through' is common

finishMost basic alternative; less formal

executeMore formal; common in business docs

Opposites

abandongive updropleave unfinishedstop halfway

Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Choose the most natural sentence

1. Which sentence sounds most natural for a sprint planning meeting?

We must carry through the feature.We need to carry through with the feature implementation.We should carry through it.Let's carry it through with.

Find the error

2. Which sentence has a grammar mistake?

The team carried through despite setbacks.She carries through on her promises.We need to carry through it by Friday.I'm carrying through with the migration plan.

Complete the sentence

3. We didn't carry _____ on our action items from the last retrospective.

Rewrite more naturally

4. Rewrite this sentence: 'We will carry through the plan until it is done.'

More words

follow through wrap up ship deliver push through action item commitment

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "carry through" in a standup this week?

Want more structured practice like this? Our English for Programmers course covers real workplace English in depth.

Your badges

XLinkedIn

← Back to home