shipment
gb/ʃˈɪpmənt/ us/ʃˈɪpmənt/
B1
English
~ 8000
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
group of goods sent together
A group or load of things that are sent together from one place to another, usually for a customer or a store.
Usage pattern:
a shipment of [goods]
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse "shipment" with "shipping" and "delivery". "Shipment" is the group of goods themselves, while "shipping" is the general process or cost of sending them, and "delivery" is the act of bringing them to the final customer. Learners also sometimes say *"a shipment of stuffs"*; use a specific countable noun instead, e.g. "a shipment of clothes/books/parts".
Synonyms
consignment (Often used in business and shipping; very close in meaning but slightly more formal and technical.)
|
cargo (Usually refers to goods carried by ship, plane, or truck; focuses more on the load itself than the business transaction.)
|
load (More general and informal; can refer to any amount of things being carried, not only commercial goods.)
Antonyms
inventory (Inventory is goods kept in storage, while a shipment is goods that are being sent out or moved.)
Collocations
a shipment of goods
|large shipment
|receive a shipment
|track a shipment
|delay the shipment
|illegal shipment
Themes
business
|trade
|transport
|transportation
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The store is waiting for a new shipment of laptops to arrive on Friday.
- Customs officers seized a shipment of illegal drugs at the border.
- Our latest shipment of books was damaged during transport.
- The company sends a weekly shipment of fresh vegetables to local restaurants.
- We received a shipment of spare parts from the factory yesterday.
Learner examples
- The supermarket got a new shipment of fruit today.
- A large shipment of clothes came to the shop last night.
- They are checking a shipment of phones at the airport.
- We are waiting for a shipment of chairs for the classroom.
- This shipment of toys is for children in another country.
Noun
B2
event
2
process or event of sending goods
The action or event of sending goods from one place to another, usually as part of business.
Usage pattern:
the shipment [is/was] [status]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *"do a shipment"* instead of natural phrases like "arrange shipment", "send the shipment", or "ship the goods". They also confuse "shipment" (countable: one shipment, two shipments) with uncountable "shipping" when talking about costs, where "shipping" is usually preferred (e.g. "shipping costs", not *"shipment costs"* in many contexts).
Synonyms
dispatch (Emphasizes the act of officially sending something out, often used in business or logistics contexts.)
|
shipping (A very close term; more common for talking about the general process, service, or cost rather than a single event.)
|
sending (More general and everyday; not limited to commercial goods.)
Antonyms
storage (Storage is keeping goods in one place, while shipment is moving them from one place to another.)
Collocations
shipment is delayed
|shipment is scheduled
|shipment will take [time]
|shipment costs
|shipment status
|shipment date
Themes
business
|trade
|logistics
|transportation
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The shipment will take three to five business days, depending on your location.
- Due to the storm, the shipment was delayed by a week.
- Your order is ready for shipment and will leave the warehouse tonight.
- The company offers free shipment on all orders over fifty dollars.
- We need to arrange shipment of the machines to our new factory.
Learner examples
- The shipment will leave tomorrow.
- Bad weather slowed the shipment of food.
- We must plan the shipment of these boxes.
- The shipment was late because of a problem at the port.
- They pay extra for fast shipment.
Grammar
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.