cargo

[ kahr-goh ]

noun

, plural car·goes, car·gos.

1. the lading or freight of a ship, airplane, etc.
2. load.

   Synonyms: burden

3. cargos, pants or shorts having several cargo pockets to hold bulky gear and small items.

adjective

1. of or denoting a style of pants or shorts with cargo pockets.

cargo

/ ˈkɑːɡəʊ /

noun

1. 1. goods carried by a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle; freight
   2. ( as modifier )

      a cargo vessel

2. any load

   the train pulled in with its cargo of new arrivals

Word History and Origins

Origin of cargo¹

1640–50; from Spanish: “a load,” noun derivative of cargar “to load,” from Late Latin carricāre; charge

Word History and Origins

Origin of cargo¹

C17: from Spanish: from cargar to load, from Late Latin carricāre to load a vehicle, from carrus car

Synonym Study

See freight.

Example Sentences

Those clothes become so dirty that they are thrown out in a cargo vehicle that burns up in the atmosphere.

From BBC

On three days in July, fires broke out in a container due to be loaded on to a DHL cargo plane in the German city of Leipzig, at a transport company near Warsaw, and at Minworth near Birmingham, UK, involving a package described as an incendiary device.

From BBC

It’s estimated about 53,000 trips are taken across the bridge daily, about 9% of those by heavy cargo trucks.

From Los Angeles Times

Wilmington residents have long complained about noxious air and the rumble of cargo trucks.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the largest commercial airlines and airborne cargo carriers in the U.S. have banded together to help solve the problem under their trade group Airlines for America.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consignment
• freight
• goods
• load
• merchandise
• payload
• shipment