Meaning & use
transporter
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Meanings
nouncountable
A vehicle or machine used to carry goods, people, or animals from one place to another.
Grammar: Countable: a transporter / two transporters. Often used with of: a transporter of livestock.
Patterns
- a transporter of something
- a car transporter
- a horse transporter
The company uses a fleet of transporters to move new cars.
A livestock transporter arrived to take the sheep to market.
The airport has special transporters for passengers with limited mobility.
nouncountable
A person or company that carries goods or people as a business.
Grammar: Countable: a transporter / transporters. Often followed by of: a transporter of dangerous goods.
Patterns
- a transporter of goods
- a licensed transporter
He works as a transporter of medical supplies.
The company is a major transporter of coal in the region.
nouncountable
In science fiction, a device that moves people or objects instantly from one place to another.
Grammar: Countable: a transporter / transporters. Often used in the phrase 'beam up'.
Patterns
- use a transporter
- beam someone up
The crew stepped onto the transporter and vanished.
In the film, the transporter can send you across the galaxy in seconds.
Word forms
| plural | transporters |
|---|
Common combinations
- car transporter
- A car transporter blocked the road for ten minutes.
- horse transporter
- The horse transporter had room for six animals.
- livestock transporter
- The livestock transporter was inspected at the border.
- beam up
- The captain ordered the crew to beam up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carrier
- More general and can also mean a person or thing that carries something; transporter often suggests a specialized vehicle or device.
- truck
- A specific road vehicle; a transporter can be any kind of carrier and is often used for large or special loads.
- hauler
- Mainly American and often used for a company or vehicle that transports heavy goods.
Word family
- transport verb
- To carry people or goods from one place to another.
- transport noun
- The system or business of moving people or goods.
- transportation noun
- The act or process of moving people or things.
- transported adjective
- Carried or moved from one place to another.
Commonly confused: transporter or transporter?
transporter vs transporter
Not to be confused with 'transporter' as a person; in science fiction it is a device, but in everyday use it is a vehicle or company.
Practice
The zoo hired a specialist ___ to move the elephants to a new enclosure.
Choose one answer.
A 'transporter' is the vehicle or company that carries animals. 'Transport' as a noun refers to the system, 'transportation' is the general process, and 'transported' is a verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “transporter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.