freight

1 of 2

noun

ˈfrāt 

often attributive

1

a

: the compensation paid for the transportation of goods

b

: cost

parents helping their children pay the freight for college

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

Synonyms of freight

Noun

• cargo
• burden
• payload
• loading
• load

Verb

• load
• burden

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

China sulfur prices, including cost and freight, climbed by about 13% from early March to $621 per tonne as of March 26, according to S&P Global Platts. —Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2026

That may not be enough, with the approach of peak summer energy demand — driven by travel, agriculture and freight needs — especially as emergency oil stockpiles run down, said Duttatreya Das of the think tank Ember. —ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026

Verb

But that’s also because the performances are so heavily freighted with character, so to speak, that the humanity of the whole often gets shrouded in so many fantastical layers. —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026

As dazzling as that was, the timing of Xu’s speech also freighted the topic with geopolitical import. —Colin Jones, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025

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

Phrases Containing freight

• freight car
• freight train
• pay the freight

Rhymes for freight

• ate
• bait
• bate
• cate
• crate
• date
• eight
• fait
• fate
• fete
• frate
• gait

Kids Definition

freight

1 of 2 noun

ˈfrāt 

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