freight

1. (uncountable) The transportation of goods (originally by water; now also (chiefly US) by land); also, the hiring of a vehicle or vessel for such transportation.Examples: "[A]fter ſome Conſideration, that the City of Hamburgh might happen to be as good a Market for our Goods as London, we all took Freight with him, and having put my Goods on board, it was moſt natural for me to put my Steward on board to take care of them, […]"uncountableusually

2. (uncountable) Goods or items in transport; cargo, luggage.Examples: "The freight shifted and the trailer turned over on the highway."; "Diſcretion is the ballaſt of our Ship, that carries us ſteady; but Zeal is the very Fraight, the Cargaſon, the Merchandiſe it ſelf, vvhich enriches us in the land of the living; and this vvas our caſe, vve vvere all come to eſteem our Ballaſt more then our Fraight, our Diſcretion more then our Zeal; we had more care to pleaſe great men then God; more conſideration of an imaginary change of times, then of unchangeable eternity it ſelf."; "Space for carrying light freight also features in Grand Union's proposal. The company says it is working with partners at Intercity Railfreight on the logistics of this, with refrigerated space to be available for movement of urgent NHS biological materials. Initially freight would be carried in the DVTs of the Class 91/Mk 4 sets, while on the Class 802s the kitchen/buffet would be located towards the centre of the train to make space for freight."uncountableusually

3. (countable) Payment for transportation.Examples: "The freight was more expensive for cars than for coal."; "[I]f I would let the ſame Men who were in the Ship navigate her, he would hire the Ship to go to Japan, and would ſend them from thence to the Philippine Iſlands with another Loading, which he would pay the Freight of, before they went from Japan; and that at their Return, he would buy the Ship: […]"; "Had the ship earned her freight? To earn freight there must, of course, be either a right delivery, or a due and proper offer to deliver the goods to the consignees."countableusually

4. (figuratively)Examples: "Thus Apple Trees, whoſe Trunks are ſtrong to bear Their ſpreading Boughs, exert themſelves in Air: Want no supply, but ſtand ſecure alone, Not truſting foreign Forces, but their own: 'Till with the ruddy freight the bending Branches groan."; "Now homeward through the thickening hubbub, where See, among less distinguishable shapes, […] the stately and slow-moving Turk, With freight of slippers piled beneath his arm!"countablefigurativelyusually

5. (figuratively)Examples: "Ideally, those engaged in contributing to that discourse would have some awareness of the emotional forces which may be called into play by the simple appearance in print or a broadcast clip of a phrase built around the word 'freedom'. This may seem to be a quite unrealistic aim, until we note that some contributors to the emotional public sphere – advertising creatives – are very aware of the emotional freight that simple words may carry, and seek to direct that freight to particular destinations (with particular behavioural consequences)."figurativelyspecificallyuncountableusually

6. (countable, originally US, rail transport) Ellipsis of freight train.Examples: "They shipped it ordinary freight to spare the expense."; "The track, raggedly defined in trampled loam and muddy furrow, bent in a direction which indicated that its terminus might be the switch where the empty cars had stood last night, waiting for the one-o'clock freight."; "Two westbound freights were in the vicinity and the operator was kept busy passing them radio messages with the latest information on the late running of the streamliners, to allow the enginemen to keep moving until the last possible minute before they had to sidetrack their trains to let the fast trains overtake."abbreviationalt-ofcountableellipsisusually