bill of lading

noun phrase

: a document issued by a carrier that lists goods being shipped and specifies the terms of their transport

Examples of bill of lading in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One example can be as simple as shipments that are missing bills of lading or origin documents. Forbes, 1 June 2021 Iranian shippers have gone to increasing lengths to evade sanctions, switching off radio transponders to avoid tracking, while operators transporting Iranian crude have changed their ships’ names or doctored bills of lading. Benoit Faucon, WSJ, 15 Dec. 2020 According to bills of lading and other records provided to the San Antonio Express-News by officials at 23 food banks, CRE8AD8 delivered about 147,000 boxes total to food banks. Tom Orsborn, ExpressNews.com, 1 July 2020

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

Word History

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bill of lading was in 1532

Dictionary Entries Near bill of lading

Cite this Entry

“Bill of lading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bill%20of%20lading. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

bill of lading

bill of lad·​ing
-ˈlā-diŋ
: a document issued by a carrier that lists goods being shipped and specifies the terms of their transport

Note: A bill of lading serves as a receipt for the goods, a contract for the transport of the goods, and a document of title showing that the person in possession of the bill has title to the goods.

clean bill of lading
: a bill of lading that does not have any notations written or otherwise marked on it that qualify or amend the bill
negotiable bill of lading
: order bill of lading in this entry
nonnegotiable bill of lading
: straight bill of lading in this entry
order bill of lading
: a bill of lading under which the goods are to be delivered to the person named in the bill or to the named person's order or to the bearer of the bill

called also negotiable bill of lading

compare straight bill of lading in this entry
straight bill of lading
: a bill of lading that names the only person to whom the goods may be delivered

called also nonnegotiable bill of lading

compare order bill of lading in this entry

More from Merriam-Webster on bill of lading

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