Meaning & use
merchant ship
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A large boat used for carrying goods or cargo for trade, not for fighting.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a merchant ship' or 'merchant ships'.
Patterns
- a merchant ship carrying something
- by merchant ship
The port was full of merchant ships loading and unloading goods.
A merchant ship carrying grain arrived at the harbor yesterday.
During the storm, the merchant ship changed course to avoid the worst waves.
Word forms
| plural | merchant ships |
|---|
Common combinations
- merchant ship carrying cargo
- The merchant ship carrying cargo left the dock at sunrise.
- fleet of merchant ships
- The country has a large fleet of merchant ships for trade.
- merchant ship crew
- The merchant ship crew worked in shifts day and night.
- sail on a merchant ship
- He spent two years sailing on a merchant ship around the world.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cargo ship
- Focuses on the goods carried; 'merchant ship' is broader and can include passenger-carrying trade vessels.
- freighter
- Often used for a large ship that carries goods in bulk; 'merchant ship' is more general and slightly formal.
Opposites
Commonly confused: merchant ship or merchant marine?
merchant ship vs merchant marine
This refers to the people and ships involved in a country's commercial shipping, not a single vessel.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'merchant ship' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A merchant ship is for trade and cargo, so it can carry containers. The other options confuse it with a warship, a pleasure boat, or a fishing boat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “merchant ship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.