freighter

American  

[frey-ter] / ˈfreɪ tər /

noun

1. a vessel used mainly for carrying cargo.

2. a large aircraft or spacecraft used primarily for transporting cargo and equipment.

   The space station of the future will be supplied by robot freighters.

3. a person whose occupation it is to receive and forward freight.

4. a person for whom freight is transported; shipper.

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freighter British  

/ ˈfreɪtə /

noun

1. a ship or aircraft designed for transporting cargo

2. a person concerned with the loading or chartering of a ship

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Etymology

Origin of freighter

First recorded in 1615–25; freight + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The freighter was quickly unloaded and flew back to China carrying only empty pallets.

From The Wall Street Journal

The ship they were particularly anxious to get quickly into port was the Aleksandrovsk, a freighter carrying twenty-four hydrogen bomb warheads for intermediate-range missiles, along with forty-four tactical nuclear warheads.

From Literature

Anxiety filled the city’s atmosphere, especially early in the war, when Allied freighters were being torpedoed off the coast, tragically framed against the city’s nighttime glow.

From The Wall Street Journal

When you think about the folk era, when it was really hot — burning hot — it was hobos on freighters writing songs about social injustice.

From Los Angeles Times

After the telegram arrived, instructing him to head to Le Harve, the 19-year-old discovered the only available ship was a freighter packed with army lorries, according to the Royal Navy.

From BBC

Related Words

• car
• crate
• jeep
• lorry
• pickup
• rig
• van
• wagon