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Glite Dictionary
🚚 Transported goods 💵 Shipping cost 🚚 To ship goods
freight

freight

9 3.5
The cost to send goods by ship, train, or truck
  • noun
  • /freɪt/
translation icon : flete
  • The new regulations have increased the freight costs for shipping furniture across the country.
  • freight charge
  • freight costs
  • high freight

Lumber prices are down, freight prices are down.

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Examples

  • First, the great distance separating trading partners results in very high freight costs for the goods shipped.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The cost of freight would need to be less than the labor increase to justify outsourcing.

    Blog text (26)

  • We're in the freight business.

    Dolan's Cadillac (2009)

  • It's just shipping costs and like the freight to get it in.

  • But when we shipped those, the choice was, do you do ocean freight or do you do air freight?

  • Prospects for European sales are less clear because of relatively high freight charges to Europe and competition with European producers.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Lumber prices are down, freight prices are down.

    Ryan Pineda

  • There's real money to be made in the freight business.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Inefficient production practices have increased freight and feed costs by millions of dollars.

    Academic text (1990)

  • You've seen shipping and freight costs start coming down where you really haven't seen a softening yet.

    Meet Kevin

Synonyms

freight rate
vsfreight
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A charge for moving goods by truck, ship, or plane

is the general term for carrier transport charges rather than listed price
cartage
vsfreight
  • Archaic
1 8.4

The cost of moving goods a short distance by truck or cart

applies more broadly to carrier transport beyond short local trips
freightage
vsfreight
  • Specialized
8.8

The payment for carrying goods by ship, truck, or train

is the common term for carrier transport charges
truckage
vsfreight
  • Specialized
9.2

A fee for moving goods by truck

covers carrier transport charges across multiple transport modes
portage
vsfreight
8.3

A charge for carrying goods over land between rivers or lakes

is broader, covering transport charges not limited to water crossings
porterage
vsfreight
9.9

A fee for having a porter carry your bags

refers to carrier transport charges handled by commercial carriers instead

Idioms

to pay the freight
  • Informal
1 8.1

To accept the cost or bad result of something

to pay one's own freight
8.5

Cover your own costs without help

Compounds

freight train
20 2.8

A long train that carries goods instead of people

freight elevator
  • US
8 3.4

A large lift that moves goods like boxes or pallets between floors

freight car
  • US
4 3.2

A vehicle on a train that carries goods like boxes or crates

freight rate
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A charge for moving goods by truck, ship, or plane

freight agent
1 5.0

A person who organizes and checks the arrival and delivery of goods for a shipping company

air freight service
3.7

A service that sends goods by plane between places

freight liner
  • UK
5.2

A long fast train that carries goods between factories and ports

Surface Forms

freight singular
freights plural

Etymology

Freight comes from old Germanic words like Fracht and vracht, which were also used for the payment for moving goods. So, freight can mean the charge or cost to transport items, because it originally named both the goods and the fee to move them.