cargo

American  

[kahr-goh] / ˈkɑr goʊ /

noun

plural

cargoes, cargos

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.

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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

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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.

Related Words

See freight.

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

They assemble cars, they perform surgery, and they even handle cargo at airports.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

He said on Saturday that this week Ukraine had already destroyed high-value Russian military equipment, including aircraft, a helicopter and a cargo ship.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

From Mangareva most tourists reach Pitcairn by hitching a 32-hour ride on one of the cargo ships that shuttle back and forth every few days.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

It handled cargo that stayed inside the port system: Containers came off one ship and were loaded onto another.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

One less canoe meant divvying up the cargo and redistributing the weight across the remaining canoes.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

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