What does shipment mean?
A shipment is a quantity of goods or other items being transported from one place to another, or the act and process of sending them. In commercial and logistical settings, the term commonly refers to a grouped consignment identified by its origin, destination, contents, or tracking details. “The shipment arrived yesterday” therefore describes the arrival of the goods, while “shipment handling” refers to the procedures involved in moving them. Shipment can imply organized transport through carriers, warehouses, or freight networks, although it may also describe items sent by post or courier. It is especially common in business, manufacturing, retail, customs, and supply-chain language. Compared with a general term such as “delivery,” shipment tends to emphasize the consignment and its transportation from the sending point; compared with “cargo,” it is more widely used and can apply to small as well as large quantities. The word is formal but neutral and is also common in everyday descriptions of mailed parcels and online orders.
nounA shipment is a consignment of goods or other items sent from one place to another. It can also refer to the act or process of sending such a consignment.
- A consignment of goods or other items sent from one place to another.
- The act or process of sending goods or other items.
"The warehouse received a shipment of medical supplies on Thursday."
"The shipment was delayed by severe weather."
"Sending the shipment by air reduced the total delivery time."
The standard plural is “shipments.”
"Several shipments were scheduled to arrive before the end of the month."
A shipment can be the goods themselves or the entire process of sending them across distance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does shipment come from?
The word “shipment” was formed in English from “ship” and the suffix “-ment,” a pattern used to name an action or resulting product. “Ship” itself comes from Old English “scip,” meaning a vessel, and ultimately has Germanic relatives in other languages. The related English words “skipper” and “scupper” also reflect the older maritime vocabulary associated with ships and shipping.
Related word forms
How shipment is actually used
Common in business, trade, logistics, and legal contexts. It usually refers to goods transported as a grouped consignment, rather than to a single letter or small personal item.