cargo

American  

[kahr-goh] / ˈkɑr goʊ /

noun

• cargoes,
  plural
• cargos
  plural

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 British  

/ 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

---

Usage

What does cargo mean? Cargo is the load of materials being transported by a vehicle like a ship, airplane, train, or truck, especially for commercial or professional purposes. The word cargo is used collectively—it’s a singular noun that refers to a group of items. For example, all of the shipping containers being transported by a ship are its cargo. Such a ship can be called a cargo ship or a cargo liner. A plane primarily carrying cargo can be called a cargo plane. Such a train is typically called a freight train (freight is a close synonym of cargo). Cargo is often distinguished from other things that the vehicle might be carrying, such as passengers—the distinction is often made between a cargo ship or a cargo plane and a passenger ship or passenger plane. Cargo is also used as a modifier (adjective) in a lot of terms related to cargo and its transport and storage. The place in a ship or plane where cargo is stored is called the cargo hold. On the space shuttle, the place where equipment is stored is called the cargo bay. Cargo is sometimes used more casually in nonprofessional contexts. When packing up your car to move or go on vacation, you might say that it’s fully loaded with your cargo, but this is usually intended as a kind of joke. The word can even be used in this way to refer to people, as in A lot of parents like to alert other drivers to their precious cargo with those “baby on board” signs. The word cargo is also used in the terms cargo pants and cargo shorts, which have large side pockets (called cargo pockets) designed to be able to carry a lot of stuff. Such pants or shorts are sometimes called cargoes (or cargos), as in I think it’s time for a new pair or cargoes—these have holes in both of the pockets.  Example: We’re set to pull out of port as soon as the cargo is secured.

Synonym Usage

See freight.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cargoes
  plural
• cargos
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of cargo

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

---

Explanation

Cargo refers to goods carried by a large vehicle, like a plane, ship, train, or truck. See a giant truck on the highway piled high with boxes, lumber, or new cars? It's carrying cargo. Cargo originates from the Latin word carricare which means "to load on a cart, or wagon." Cargo can be loaded on a cart, but it's usually loaded on something much bigger. On a ship, cargo is stacked up in huge, colorful metal containers. These containers can be full of all types of cargo, like food, furniture, or electronics. You'll rarely need the plural, but it's formed by adding an -s or more commonly, an -es (cargoes).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cargo cargoes cargos

After completing its stay, the spacecraft will carry time-sensitive research materials and other cargo back to Earth, ending its journey with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The Port of Los Angeles announced it moved more cargo in September than in any other single month in its history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Plus: OpenAI alleges an ex-employee took confidential files to Apple and two cargo ships sink near the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

"Previously, transporting heavy cargo such as industrial machinery, raw materials, construction materials and energy-related supplies required extreme caution because of safety concerns surrounding the ageing bridge," Lim told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Sometimes local items were available while the ships continued to trade along the African coast until the holds were filled with human cargo.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

He added that unless the government saw "an absolute dire need", it would not be procuring spot cargoes on the LNG front, which tend to be far more expensive than previously contracted shipments.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Even though crude futures have retreated somewhat from recent highs, the cost of physical oil cargoes remains more elevated, signaling refiners are racing to lock in short-term supplies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

But with many tankers turning off tracking systems or transferring cargoes between ships to minimize threats, other analysts are circumspect about just how much shipping has recovered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Ships on the Rhine carry large cargoes of goods such as petroleum products.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Although the trade wind was blowing, the smell of gas and oil lay heavy over the Schottegat Other empty tankers were there, high out of the water, awaiting orders to sail once they had cargoes.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor

Shell said Tuesday in its annual LNG report that global physical LNG cargos sold this year could be similar to the 422 million metric tons sold in 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

The company, which operates facilities that convert natural gas into liquid for shipping purposes, exported 128 cargos and sold 478.3 trillion British thermal units of LNG in the latest quarter.

From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026

Yet even then, a “partial squeeze” spiked prices as ship owners refused cargos, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026

"I believe that what I bought was multiple cargos of virgin palm oil that has been wrongly classified as palm oil sludge," they said.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025

He was Hoede’s personal Squaller and often traveled with the merchant’s most precious cargos, guaranteeing favorable winds to bring the ships safely and quickly to harbor.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---