noun
- goods, cargo, or lading transported for pay, whether by water, land, or air.
- the ordinary conveyance or means of transport of goods provided by common carriers (distinguished from express): Shipping by freight is less expensive.
- the charges, fee, or compensation paid for such transportation: We pay the freight.
- (especially in Britain) the cargo, or any part of the cargo, of a vessel; merchandise transported by water.
- Chiefly British. transportation of goods by water.
- freight train.
- Slang. cost or price, especially when high: I’d like a larger house, but can’t afford the freight.
verb (used with object)
- to load; burden: a story heavily freighted with private meaning.
- to load with goods or merchandise for transportation: It took all night to freight the ship.
- to transport as freight; send by freight.
noun
-
- commercial transport that is slower and cheaper than express
- the price charged for such transport
- goods transported by this means
- (as modifier)freight transport
- mainly British a ship’s cargo or part of it
verb (tr)
- to load with goods for transport
- mainly US and Canadian to convey commercially as or by freight
- to load or burden; charge
n.early 13c., fraght, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German vracht, vrecht, meaning originally “cost of transport” and probably from a lost Old Frisian word, from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz “absolute possession, property” (cf. Old High German freht “earnings”), from *fra-, intensive prefix, + *aik “to be master of, possess,” from PIE *aik- (see owe). Meaning “transporting of goods or passengers for money” is from late 14c. Danish fragt, Swedish frakt apparently also are from Frisian. As a verb, from late 14c.