[ freyt ]
/ freɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR freight ON THESAURUS.COM
noun
goods, cargo, or lading transported for pay, whether by water, land, or air.
the ordinary conveyance or means of transport of goods provided by common carriers (distinguished from express): Shipping by freight is less expensive.
the charges, fee, or compensation paid for such transportation: We pay the freight.
(especially in Britain) the cargo, or any part of the cargo, of a vessel; merchandise transported by water.
Chiefly British. transportation of goods by water.
Slang. cost or price, especially when high: I’d like a larger house, but can’t afford the freight.
verb (used with object)
to load; burden: a story heavily freighted with private meaning.
to load with goods or merchandise for transportation: It took all night to freight the ship.
to transport as freight; send by freight.
QUIZZES
THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ WILL BOOST YOUR BRAINPOWER, IWIS!
Are you a soi-disant wordie? Test your knowledge on the Words of the Day from April 27 to May 3.
Question 1 of 7
soi-disant
Origin of freight
1350–1400; Middle English freyght (noun) < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German vrecht, variant of vracht. See fraught
SYNONYMS FOR freight
1 Freight, cargo, shipment refer to goods being transported from place to place. Freight is the general term for goods transported from one place to another by any means: to send freight from New York to New Orleans. Cargo is the term generally used for goods carried by ship or plane: to send a cargo to Europe. Shipment is a quantity of goods destined for a particular place, no matter how sent: a shipment of potatoes.
3 freightage, haulage.
8 charge.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR freight ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM freight
freight·less, adjectiveo·ver·freight, verb (used with object)un·freight·ed, adjective
Words nearby freight
frege, frei, frei test, freiberg’s disease, freiburg, freight, freight agent, freight car, freight engine, freight forwarder, freight house
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Words related to freight
transportation, shipping, carriage, consignment, shipment, payload, merchandise, load, lading, encumbrance, weight, wares, bulk, haul, conveyance, ballast, burden, contents, pack, fardel
Example sentences from the Web for freight
-
Up in the tower, Bucca was joined by Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, who had managed to get a freight elevator to bring him part way.
The Flying New York Fireman Who Shined on 9/11|Michael Daly|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
-
Toledo is a tough city, a factory town, a freight train junction, a lake steamer port.
Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water|P. J. O’Rourke|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
-
The danger is a bigger fire in an under-floor baggage or freight hold.
What Pilots Fear|Patrick Smith|September 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
-
Charges for freight and passenger travel were enormous in the early days of the road.
Prowling about Panama|George A. Miller
-
He and his companions had broken open a freight car and had brought each a good load.
Ralph on the Overland Express|Allen Chapman
-
Freight was scarce and, had it not been for government shipments, some of the railroads would have been abandoned.
The Sequel of Appomattox|Walter Lynwood Fleming
-
You promised to freight my ship ere I departed, and so you shall; or I mean to load her with your dead carcasses.
The Pocahontas-John Smith Story|Pocahontas Wight Edmunds
-
By this route fifty dollars was saved on every ton of freight from Ottawa to the middle north.
The Story of Isaac Brock|Walter R. Nursey
British Dictionary definitions for freight
freight
/ (freɪt) /
noun
- commercial transport that is slower and cheaper than express
- the price charged for such transport
- goods transported by this means
- (as modifier)freight transport
mainly British a ship’s cargo or part of it
verb (tr)
to load with goods for transport
mainly US and Canadian to convey commercially as or by freight
to load or burden; charge
Derived forms of freight
freightless, adjective
Word Origin for freight
C16: from Middle Dutch vrecht; related to French fret, Spanish flete, Portuguese frete
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
