Break-bulk

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A ship that carries cargo in miscellaneous small containers.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of cargo: heterogeneous in size, shape, and handling requirements; neither bulk nor containerized. not-comparable

    "Break-bulk cargo is characterized by its multiplicity and diversity. […] In break-bulk service, a cargo ship might carry barrels of cooking oil, ... cartons..., bales ..., bags ..., and so on."

Example

More examples

"Break-bulk cargo is characterized by its multiplicity and diversity. […] In break-bulk service, a cargo ship might carry barrels of cooking oil, ... cartons..., bales ..., bags ..., and so on."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.