Freight: Goods in Transit, and Meaning in a Sentence
Freight is goods carried commercially, or the charge for carrying them. As a verb it also means to load something with meaning.
Freight is cargo moved for money, and the money itself: the freight on a container is the fee. A quieter use has grown in criticism — a phrase can be *freighted with* history, loaded like a wagon with something heavy it must carry.
- Goods transported commercially. *Rail freight.*
- The charge for transporting them. *Freight is extra.*
- To load or burden. *A word freighted with meaning.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | freight | Air freight. |
| Verb | freight | Freighted overnight. |
| Adjective | freighted | Freighted with symbolism. |
| Compound | freighter | A bulk freighter. |
| Related | cargo | A cargo of grain. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Most freight still moves by sea.Uncountable.
- A freight train blocked the crossing.American usage; British says goods train.
- The scene is freighted with grief.Figurative, common in reviews.
Freight, cargo and shipment
- Freight — goods in transit, or the cost of moving them
- Cargo — goods loaded on one vehicle or vessel
- Shipment — one consignment sent at one time
- Haulage — road transport of goods (British)
- Logistics — organising the whole movement
From Middle Dutch *vracht* or Middle Low German *vrecht*, a payment for carriage. English took it from traders across the North Sea, which is why it looks so unlike its Latin-derived neighbours.
Freight or cargo?
Cargo is what is on board. Freight is the business of carrying it, and also the fee. In American English freight train is standard.
How is freight pronounced?
Like *frate*. The ei follows the same pattern as in *eight* and *weight*.