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

There’s a close call when Dick opens the cargo door and nearly jumps out of the plane, but Leroy stops him just in time. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025

The entire Antarcti system, with a gas canister or two, can store away in a vehicle console or the corner of a camping cargo box. —New Atlas, 10 Nov. 2025

One theory points to the ongoing government shutdown and its impact on air travel; another links the tone to last week’s deadly UPS cargo-plane crash in Louisville. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are served food that was prepared and then launched to the station on cargo missions. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 10 Nov. 2025

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