shipment

shipment — noun

1. a set of products or materials that are moved from one location to a customer or

1.nounB1
Definition

a set of products or materials that are moved from one location to a customer or another place, usually as a single delivery; also the process of moving them

Example

The shipment of medical supplies reached the hospital just before the storm hit.

shipment of [goods] + reached [destination]

Ingrid checked the shipment's tracking number every morning for a week.

Common collocations
  • shipment of + goods/items/products
  • receive / send / track a shipment
  • a shipment arrives / reaches / leaves
Synonyms
  • delivery

    more general; can include services and digital goods, not just physical products

  • consignment

    more formal; often implies goods sent to a seller to be sold on behalf of the sender

  • cargo

    specifically goods carried by a ship, aircraft, or large vehicle; less common for small parcels

  • load

    informal; focuses on the quantity carried by one vehicle without implying a commercial transaction

Grammar Patterns

shipment of + noun

a/the shipment + verb

Usage Note

Countable when it refers to a specific batch of goods (two shipments arrived). Uncountable when the focus is on the transporting process (free shipment worldwide for orders over 2000 dollars).

Common Mistakes

The shipment cost was very high' (when meaning the price of sending).
The shipping cost was very high.
shipment refers to the goods themselves, while shipping refers to the service of sending them.
The shipment of tourists arrived at the port.
The group of tourists arrived at the port.
shipment is used for goods, not for people.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe goods moved from one place to another, but they differ in scope and formality. Shipment is the broadest business term, covering any batch of goods sent by any transport method. Delivery highlights the arrival at the final destination and can include services or digital products. Consignment is formal and carries a commercial nuance — goods sent to an agent for sale. Cargo is restricted to large vehicles (ships, planes, trucks) and emphasises bulk. Load is informal and focuses on the capacity of a single vehicle ('a truckload of bricks'). Use shipment for everyday business logistics: 'The shipment of laptops arrived at the warehouse this morning.' Use delivery when the endpoint matters: 'The pizza delivery took forty minutes.' Use consignment for official trade documents: 'The consignment was held at customs.' Use cargo for freight transport: 'The cargo plane departed at dawn.' Use load in casual speech: 'The driver picked up a load of timber.'

shipment ↗delivery ↗consignment ↗cargo ↗load ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in the shipment
  • per shipment
  • shipment in transit

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed from the verb 'ship' (to send goods) plus the suffix '-ment', which turns verbs into nouns. 'Ship' in the sense of sending goods on a vessel dates back to the 15th century, from Old English 'scipian'. The noun 'shipment' emerged in the 18th century, when global maritime trade was expanding rapidly.