freight

1 of 2

noun

often attributive
1
a
: the compensation paid for the transportation of goods
b
: cost
help pay the freight
2
a
: goods to be shipped : cargo
The freight arrived by steamboat.
b
: load, burden
The man staggered under a freight of small logs in a basket.
c
: meaning sense 3, significance
words that carry psychological freight, such as "family," "work," and "sex"
3
a
: the ordinary transportation of goods by a common carrier and distinguished from express
b
: a train designed or used for such transportation
an eastbound freight

freight

2 of 2

verb

freighted; freighting; freights

transitive verb

1
a
: to load with goods for transportation
b
: burden, charge
freighted with memories
2
: to transport or ship by freight

Examples of freight in a Sentence

Noun trains that carry both passengers and freight The freight arrived by steamboat. The order was shipped by freight. Verb it took six hours to freight the cargo airplane
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Still, profit at BNSF, its railroad operations, fell 15% amid lower freight volumes and higher non-fuel operating costs. Max Reyes, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2023 Apparently — few of even the most ardent college football observers knew this until Thursday — the NCAA disallowed in-person advanced scouting in 1994 because the schools didn’t want to pay the spies’ freight any longer. J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2023 In contrast to costly and delayed public projects, like California's high-speed rail, Brightline constructed its initial service between West Palm and Miami in just four years, on an existing freight line. Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2023 And demand is only growing — the Federal Highway Administration projects that freight shipments will see a 30% increase by 2040. Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2023 Instead, crews will reinforce 100 support columns that were damaged by the fire on Saturday morning, which burned in an area beneath the freeway where vehicles and wooden freight pallets were stored. Corina Knoll, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023 Jack Cooper Transport has no experience running a less-than-truckload freight network—a complex operation that requires filling trailers with multiple customers’ cargo on routes that crisscross the country—or of operating a company the size of Yellow. Paul Berger, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2023 During the special legislative session, as questions swirled around the lectern, the assistant wrote in an email on Sept. 11 that the governor's office received the lectern via freight carrier on Aug. 9. Libby Cathey, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2023 Rising energy prices, if elevated for long enough, could eventually feed into core inflation by making services such as freight and air transportation more expensive. Bryan Mena, CNN, 20 Sep. 2023
Verb
But right off the bat, the fragmented approach is freighted with a cumbersome framing device. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 The actual kidnapping doesn’t occur until two-thirds through the film, a narrative decision that both gives us time to understand the rhythms of Umut’s daily life and also freights even the most cheerful early scenes with a sense of gathering dread. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023 That approach means the movie is freighted with exposition, along with lengthy monologues and much stirring oration. Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Rarely has an overseas presidential expedition been so uncertain even in its itinerary at the time of takeoff, and so freighted with jeopardy both political and physical. Peter Baker, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023 In a conflict already freighted with allegations of war crimes, a strike on a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday has divided opinion, set back hopes for a diplomatic end to fighting and deepened global anguish over the prospect of more civilian deaths. Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023 No foodstuffs are air freighted in, and nearly everything—from cheese, to bread, to miso, to kombucha, to butter—is made in-house from local ingredients. Liam Hess, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2023 The moment, however, was freighted with a mixed bag of emotions for both the actress and other Black Americans. Kyle Swenson, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2023 But this was only the second time Smith had come close enough for his head to be shaved, a ritual freighted with awful meaning for the men on death row at Wethersfield State Prison. Annalisa Quinn, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'freight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English freghte, freight, freyte, freythe "transport of goods, charge for transportation, cargo of a ship," borrowed from Middle Dutch vrecht "cargo, charge for transport," going back to West Germanic *fraihti-, probably "what is given over or consigned to someone" (whence also Old Frisian fracht, frecht "charge for freight," Middle Low German vracht [vrecht- in vrechtman "consigner of a cargo"], Old High German frêht "reward, recompense") from *fra- "away, off" (going back to Indo-European *pro-) + Germanic *aihti- "property, possession" (whence Old English ǣht "possession, [in plural] property, goods," Old Saxon ēht "property," Old Icelandic ætt, átt "kindred, pedigree," Gothic aihtins [accusative plural] "property"), derivative, with the abstract noun suffix *-ti-, from the base of *aigan "to possess" — more at for entry 1, owe

Note: Compare fraught entry 2 and see note there.

Verb

Middle English freighten, derivative of freghte, freight freight entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of freight was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near freight

Cite this Entry

“Freight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freight. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

freight

1 of 2 noun
1
: the amount paid (as to a shipping company) for carrying goods
2
a
: goods or cargo carried by ship, train, truck, or airplane
b
: the carrying of goods from one place to another by vehicle
ship the order by freight
3
: a train that carries freight

freight

2 of 2 verb
1
: to load for transportation
2
: to ship by freight

More from Merriam-Webster on freight

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