transportation

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noun trans·por·ta·tion \ˌtran(t)s-pər-ˈtā-shən\

Definition of transportation

1 : an act, process, or instance of transporting or being transported
2a : means of conveyance or travel from one place to anotherb : public conveyance of passengers or goods especially as a commercial enterprise
3 : banishment to a penal colony

transportational

play \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

See transportation defined for English-language learners

See transportation defined for kids

Examples of transportation in a Sentence

the transportation of troops overseas
She arranged for the transportation of her furniture to her new apartment.
He was the U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Reagan.

Recent Examples of transportation from the Web

In July 2015, Gov. Bruce Rauner suspended non-transportation capital projects and grants as part of wide-ranging budget cuts, pushing back against a Democratic-endorsed spending plan that was more than $3 billion short.

— dawn rhodes, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago State University spent $300K in school funds for West Side campus that's now shelved", 2 June 2017
Conversely, once July 1 rolls around there could be transportation bottlenecks as stores rush to restock.

— bibhudatta pradhan, Bloomberg.com, "India's Tax Revamp Is Likely to Create Some Havoc", 31 May 2017
The transportation service is free, offered in gratitude for being given a second chance and with appreciation for the importance of family support.

— courtland milloy, Washington Post, "When an ex-offender couldn’t find a job, he made one for himself", 30 May 2017
A decade later a tornado damaged the roof of the 1952 warehouse but the monolithic Roundhouse continues to stand high and dry, a fitting legacy to the role of rail transportation in Birmingham’s once prosperous iron and steel industry.

— AL.com, "Alabama history fading away at these five vital sites", 28 May 2017
Aside from the infrastructure investment, Costas said the Legislature supported local transportation plans, notably the double tracking of the South Shore Line between Gary and Michigan City.

— craig lyons, Post-Tribune, "Mayor: Legislative session 'more good than bad'", 27 May 2017
For nearly a century, nobody has found a way to make airships or zeppelins an effective means of transportation.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Here's What We Know About Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin's Secret AIrship", 26 May 2017
Take transportation, which employs one in seven Americans.

— laurence kotlikoff, The Seattle Times, "Where will we be when robots are plentiful?", 24 May 2017
The world’s gathering environmental problems are deeply interrelated, and they can’t be effectively addressed in isolation: water here, energy there, transportation somewhere else,

— david biello, New York Times, "The Colorado River and Its Unnatural World", 24 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'transportation'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of transportation

1540

Other Transportation Terms

camber, corduroy, demurrage, milestone

TRANSPORTATION Defined for English Language Learners

transportation

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noun

Definition of transportation for English Language Learners

: the act or process of moving people or things from one place to another
: a way of traveling from one place to another place
: a system for moving passengers or goods from one place to another

TRANSPORTATION Defined for Kids

transportation

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noun trans·por·ta·tion \ˌtrans-pər-ˈtā-shən\

Definition of transportation for Students

1 : an act, instance, or means of carrying people or goods from one place to another or of being carried from one place to another
2 : public carrying of passengers or goods especially as a business