cargo

noun

car·​go ˈkär-(ˌ)gō 

plural cargoes or cargos

: the goods or merchandise conveyed in a ship, airplane, or vehicle : freight

Dock workers were unloading the ship's cargo.

Synonyms of cargo

• payload
• burden
• loading
• load
• freight

Examples of cargo in a Sentence

The ship was carrying a cargo of crude oil.

we put all of our cargo on the pack animals and began our journey through the canyon

Recent Examples on the Web

Developed by Maxwell Aircraft, the patent-pending plane is designed to deliver a breakthrough combination of payload, range, and operational flexibility for cargo and passenger transportation. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026

Authorities said the cargo was picked up as planned by a truck identified as a food transport company. — Suzanne Phan, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026

The airline was kept in the black by a healthy cargo business and fuel hedges. — semafor.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Most sets were built in Toronto, disassembled and palletized to fit the cargo plane’s fuselage. — Max Gao, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, load, charge, from cargar to load, from Late Latin carricare — more at charge entry 1

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cargo

• cargo cult
• cargo pants
• cargo pocket

Rhymes for cargo

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

cargo

noun

car·​go ˈkär-ˌgō 

plural cargoes or cargos

: the goods transported in a ship, airplane, or vehicle : freight