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

• burden
• draft
• freight
• haul
• lading
• load
• loading
• payload
• weight

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

Backing up one theory about how the incident played out, Wired yesterday published an analysis that strongly suggests the cables were cut by a sinking cargo ship called the Rubymar, which the Houthis had hit with a ballistic missile. —David Meyer, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

Baltimore bridge collapse See how a cargo ship took down the bridge and how the collapse will impact the economy. —Scott Dance, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024

The 300-yard-long cargo ship will be stabilized with anchors and tug boats, the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Monday afternoon. —Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

The bridge fell as the cargo ship Dali lost power March 26 shortly after leaving Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka. —TIME, 1 Apr. 2024

For months, the cargo ship had been shuttling around the Arabian Sea, uneventfully calling at local ports. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024

Thousands could collapse from a collision The cargo ship – about the length of three football fields – has as much as 4,000 tons of steel from the bridge’s frame hanging on its bow. —Dalia Faheid, CNN, 31 Mar. 2024

From a park near Fort McHenry, visitors can see the giant cargo ship that struck the bridge and remains lodged in the wreckage. —Eduardo Medina, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024

Since the Key Bridge was struck early Tuesday morning by a cargo ship, Moore has been ever-present, visiting the site of the disaster, meeting with families and first responders, and securing federal assistance. —Jacob Fenston, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

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 pants
• cargo pocket
• cargo cult

Kids Definition

cargo

noun

car·​go ˈkär-ˌgō 

plural cargoes or cargos

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