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

Topping it off are outstanding truck virtues, from its off-road-ready all-wheel-drive system to its 11,000-pound maximum towing capacity to the clever cargo storage area between the cab and bed. —ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026

The precious cargo was later declared off limits by the government. —CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026

Cutting convoy risk Army planners see cargo drones as a way to reduce dependence on traditional resupply convoys. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Feb. 2026

The incident heightened public attention to the safety of air travel in 2025 — a year punctuated by the dramatic crash of a Delta Air Lines regional jet landing in Toronto and the fiery crash of a UPS cargo plane taking off from Louisville, Kentucky. —Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 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