freight

[freyt] /freɪt/
noun
1.
goods, cargo, or lading transported for pay, whether by water, land, or air.
2.
the ordinary conveyance or means of transport of goods provided by common carriers (distinguished from express):
Shipping by freight is less expensive.
3.
the charges, fee, or compensation paid for such transportation:
We pay the freight.
4.
(especially in Britain) the cargo, or any part of the cargo, of a vessel; merchandise transported by water.
5.
Chiefly British. transportation of goods by water.
6.
freight train.
7.
Slang. cost or price, especially when high:
I'd like a larger house, but can't afford the freight.
verb (used with object)
8.
to load; burden:
a story heavily freighted with private meaning.
9.
to load with goods or merchandise for transportation:
It took all night to freight the ship.
10.
to transport as freight; send by freight.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English freyght (noun) < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German vrecht, variant of vracht. See fraught
Related forms
freightless, adjective
overfreight, verb (used with object)
unfreighted, adjective
Synonyms
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.
Examples from the web for freight
  • The mostly unseen freight distribution network delivers our goods and supports our lifestyle.
  • The volume of freight has grown dramatically, and the mix of goods and the way they are moved have changed.
  • My quasi-stepdaughters will emerge, frankly, with no debt as their parents are rich enough to pay the full freight.
  • They get paid a percentage of the mortgage value and you pay the freight, not the bank or mortgage company.
  • In other other words, a flea hitting a freight train.
  • Go watch a freight train go by and see how many cars have a sodium hydroxide label on them.
  • Even with freight the price should still be really good.
  • What freight it carries, as you have pointed out above.
  • Not to mention the dangers involved with so much freight on the roads.
  • Its a runaway freight train that will make us poorer and less free.
British Dictionary definitions for freight

freight

/freɪt/
noun
1.
  1. commercial transport that is slower and cheaper than express
  2. the price charged for such transport
  3. goods transported by this means
  4. (as modifier): freight transport
2.
(mainly Brit) a ship's cargo or part of it
verb (transitive)
3.
to load with goods for transport
4.
(mainly US & Canadian) to convey commercially as or by freight
5.
to load or burden; charge
Derived Forms
freightless, adjective
Word Origin
C16: from Middle Dutch vrecht; related to French fret, Spanish flete, Portuguese frete
Word Origin and History for freight
n.

early 13c., fraght, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German vracht, vrecht, meaning originally "cost of transport" and probably from a lost Old Frisian word, from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz "absolute possession, property" (cf. Old High German freht "earnings"), from *fra-, intensive prefix, + *aik "to be master of, possess," from PIE *aik- (see owe). Meaning "transporting of goods or passengers for money" is from late 14c. Danish fragt, Swedish frakt apparently also are from Frisian. As a verb, from late 14c.

Slang definitions & phrases for freight

freight

Related Terms

pay the freight