Meaning & use
forwarder
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
A company or person that arranges for goods to be sent on to their destination, handling transport and paperwork for others.
Grammar: Countable: a forwarder, several forwarders. Often 'freight forwarder'.
Patterns
- a forwarder for something
Our forwarder booked space on a ship to Rotterdam.
The forwarder handled customs forms for the whole shipment.
Small importers often rely on a freight forwarder.
nouncountablecomputing
A tool or setting that automatically sends incoming messages or traffic on to another address or place.
Grammar: Often used in computing compounds: email forwarder, port forwarder.
Patterns
- a forwarder to something
I set up a forwarder so work email reaches my phone.
The router acts as a port forwarder for the game server.
A mail forwarder sends letters sent to the old domain to the new one.
Word forms
| plural | forwarders |
|---|
Common combinations
- freight forwarder
- A freight forwarder arranged the air shipment.
- email forwarder
- The email forwarder sends messages to my new address.
- hire a forwarder
- We hired a forwarder to cut customs delays.
- mail forwarder
- A mail forwarder gave him a US address.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- forward verb
- to send on to another place or person
- forwarding noun
- the act of sending something on
- forwarding address noun
- a new address for mail
- forward adverb
- toward the front or the future
Commonly confused: forwarder or foreword?
forwarder vs foreword
A foreword is a short introduction at the start of a book; it sounds like forward but has nothing to do with sending things.
Practice
The exporter hired a ___ to organize shipping and customs forms.
Choose one answer.
A forwarder arranges transport and papers. A foreword is part of a book, a forecaster predicts, and a forager searches for food.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “forwarder”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.