transporter

noun trans·port·er \ tran(t)s-ˈpȯr-tər , ˈtran(t)s-ˌpȯr- \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Definition of transporter

: one that transports; especially : a vehicle for transporting large or heavy loads

See transporter defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of transporter from the Web

As soon as its engines stopped spinning, cargo doors opened and transporters moved into position, platforms raised to accept the big containers inside.

— barry d. wood, USA TODAY, "'Mini-Memphis': Inside FedEx's bustling hub in China," 10 May 2018
Because the α4 transporter is found only on mature sperm cells, the contraceptive effect should be reversible – sperm cells produced after stopping the treatment presumably won’t be affected.

— Smithsonian, "Heart-Stopping Arrow Poison Could Be the Key to Male Birth Control," 31 Jan. 2018
With a schedule full of executions (death by transporter) and daily trips to the Agony Booths, being the captain of the ISS Shenzhou takes its toll.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "'Star Trek: Discovery' Feels Increasingly More Comfortable In a Universe of Killers," 15 Jan. 2018
Portugal and Britain were the two top transporters of slaves, capturing and cargo-ing more than 3 million Africans from the west coast of the continent to colonies in the Caribbean and the Americas, according to the U.K.’s National Archives.

— jenn m. jackson, Teen Vogue, "Meghan Markle's Race Matters Because of Britain's Imperialist History," 19 May 2018
Every five weeks, Chinese cities add 9,500 of the zero-emissions transporters—the equivalent of London’s entire working fleet, according Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

— Bloomberg.com, "Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry," 23 Apr. 2018
But hummingbird muscle fibers tend to have a lot of this transporter.

— james gorman, New York Times, "The Amazing Metabolism of Hummingbirds," 20 Mar. 2018
Its transport team in Chula Vista started with just three or four transporters and has now grown to 36.

— paul sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chula Vista hospital cuts the wait for its patients," 19 Mar. 2018
With Voq/Tyler’s transporter death sentence arranged, Burnham sends him into the vacuum of space herself, only to be immediately picked up by the Discovery—with the Terran Empire data planted on him.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "'Star Trek: Discovery' Feels Increasingly More Comfortable In a Universe of Killers," 15 Jan. 2018

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