cargo

noun

car·​go ˈkär-(ˌ)gō 

plural cargoes or cargos

: the goods or merchandise conveyed in a ship, airplane, or vehicle : freight

Dock workers were unloading the ship's cargo.

Synonyms of cargo

• payload
• burden
• loading
• load
• freight

Examples of cargo in a Sentence

The ship was carrying a cargo of crude oil.

we put all of our cargo on the pack animals and began our journey through the canyon

Recent Examples on the Web

When the mission does launch, NASA will forgo transporting astronauts and instead send the spacecraft to the International Space Station with nothing but cargo. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 June 2026

Belgian police found photographs of the Louvre — including the Galerie d’Apollon, where the jewels were displayed — on the cellphones of several Eastern European individuals arrested in Belgium on unrelated cargo-theft charges. —Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 3 June 2026

That’s why God invented trunks and cargo holds. —Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 3 June 2026

The jets can be fueled at alternative locations, while the company can also shift air cargo to road transportation or reroute via different hubs. —Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, load, charge, from cargar to load, from Late Latin carricare — more at charge entry 1

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cargo

• cargo cult
• cargo pants
• cargo pocket

Rhymes for cargo

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

cargo

noun

car·​go ˈkär-ˌgō 

plural cargoes or cargos

: the goods transported in a ship, airplane, or vehicle : freight