fraught
/fɹɔːt/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/fɹoːt/
fraught noun: the hire of a boat or ship to transport cargo.
Noun
fraught (usually uncountable, plural fraughts)
- The hire of a boat or ship to transport cargo.
- Money paid to hire a vessel for this purpose; freight.
- fraught money
- The transportation of goods, especially in a boat or ship.
- A ship's cargo; freight, lading.
- VVell, goe / And bid the Merchants and my men diſpatch / And come aſhore, and ſee the fraught discharg'd.c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published...
- And novv behold after my vvinters toyle, / My paynefull voyage on the boyſtrous ſea, / Of vvarres deuouring gulphes and ſteely rocks, / I bring my fraught vnto the vviſhed port / My Summers hope, my trauels ſvveet reward: […]1596, [attributed to William Shakespeare; Thomas Kyd], The Raigne of King Edward the Third: […], London: […] [T. Scarlet] for Cuthbert Burby, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], signature G2, recto
- Two bucketfuls.
- The manse […] is reached […] by a wide, straight path, so rough that to carry a fraught of water to the manse without spilling was to be superlatively good at one thing.1891, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Night-watchers”, in The Little Minister. […], volume I, London; Paris: Cassell and Company, […], →OCLC, pages 32–33
- A burden, a load.
- Thoſe morning haunts are vvhere they ſhould be at home, not ſleeping, or concocting the ſurfets of an irregular Feaſt, but up and ſtirring, […] in Summer as oft vvith the Bird that firſt rouſes, or not much tardier, to reade good Authors, or cauſe them to be read, till the Attention be vveary, or...1642 April, John Milton, An Apology for Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume I, Amsterdam [actually...
- His fraught vve ſoon ſhall knovv, he novv arrives.1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 65, line 86
Verb
fraught (third-person singular simple present fraughts, present participle fraughting, simple past and past participle fraught or fraughted)
- To load (a boat, ship, or other vessel) with cargo.
- The ſhips are ſafe thou ſaiſt, and richly fraught?c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published...
- […] I denie that the Proteſtant doth not meddle vvith theſe things, but fraughteth his ſhippe onely vvith faith, and neuer beateth his braine about ſinnes.1603, Francis Dillingham, “The 15. Reason: Diuinitie”, in A Quartron of Reasons, Composed by Doctor Hill, Unquartered, and Prooued a Quartron of Follies, [Cambridge, Cambridgeshire]: […] Iohn Legat...
- To burden or load (someone or something).
- From God these heavy cares are sent for our unrests; / And with such burdens for our wealth he fraughteth full our breasts.a. 1548 (date written), Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, “Ecclesiastes. Chapter III.”, in The Poems of Henry Howard Earl of Surrey, London: William Pickering, published 1831, →OCLC, page 90
- If after this command thou fraught the Court / VVith thy vnvvorthineſſe, thou dyeſt.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- Followed by with: to furnish or provide (something).
- Therefore in ſayinge that he ſeeketh to none in heauẽ ſaue only god, he reiecteth all the counterfet Gods with which the comon errour & foly of yͤ world fraughteth heauen.1571, John Calvin, “[Commentary on Psalm 73:25]”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The Psalmes of Dauid and Others. With M. Iohn Caluin’s Commentaries, London: […] Thomas East and Henry Middelton; for...
- [H]ee [Henry I of England] tooke chiefe pleaſure to reſide in his nevv Palace, vvhich himſelfe built at Oxford, both for the delight he had in learned men, himſelfe being very learned, and for the vicinity of his nevv Parke at VVoodſtocke, vvhich hee had fraught vvith all kind of ſtrange beaſts...1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Henrie, the First of that Name, the Fortieth One Monarch of the English-men: […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons...
- To hire (a vessel) to transport cargo or passengers.
- To transport (cargo or passengers) in a vessel; to freight.
- To form the cargo or passengers of a vessel.
- Had I byn any God of povver, I vvould / Have ſuncke the Sea vvithin the Earth, or ere / It ſhould the good Ship ſo haue ſvvallovv'd, and / The fraughting Soules within her.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
Adjective
fraught (comparative more fraught or (rare) fraughter, superlative most fraught or (rare) fraughtest)
- Of a boat, ship, or other vessel: laden with cargo.
- The ſhippes retyre with riches full yfraught, […]1576, George Gascoigne, “The Fruites of Warre, Written vppon This Theame, Dulce Bellum Inexpertis, […]”, in The Posies of George Gascoigne Esquire. […], London: […] H[enry] Bynneman for Richard...
- Theſe Shippes were fraught with men and women, and had to theyr Captayne one called Bartholoin or Partholin.1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “The Historie of Englande”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC...
- Synonyms:
- freighted
- Antonyms:
- unfraught, unfreighted
- Followed by with: carrying, or charged or loaded up with (usually something negative); accompanied by; entailing.
- [O]ne the other fiercely did encounter, / Like Lions two yfraught with boyling wrath, […]1566, Euripides, “Iocasta: A Tragedie Written in Greke by Euripides, […]”, in George Gascoigne, Francis Kinwelmershe, transl., A Hundreth Sundrie Flowres Bounde up in One Small Poesie. […], London...
- Fayre boſome fraught vvith vertues richeſt treſure, / The neaſt of loue, the lodging of delight: / the bovvre of bliſſe, the paradice of pleaſure, / the ſacred harbour of that heuenly ſpright.1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet LXXVI”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature [E7], recto
- Carrying or loaded with anxiety, fear, or stress, for example, due to complexity or difficulty; distressed; also, causing distress; distressing.
- a fraught relationship a fraught process
- Nor less her son the like encouraged she / To party bitterness, that was in her, / Ev'n of the fraughtest growth that well could be, / Surpassing most of men's, […]1878, Benj[amin] G. Herre, “Wyman’s Ordeal. A Partisan Tale.”, in Eratics: Or, Love Stories, Lancaster, Pa.: Jno. [Jon.?] H. Pearsol, […], →OCLC, scene iii, stanza XXI, page 180
- Synonyms:
- wrought-up
- Antonyms:
- unfraught
- Followed by with: furnished, provided.
- [W]hen the worlde is fraughted with ſo manye varlettes, that it will be a long time ere a man ſhall diſcerne the faythful from the Hipocrites.[1574, Augustine Marlorate [i.e., Augustin Marlorat], “[Revelation 2:2]”, in Arthur Golding, transl., A Catholike Exposition vpon the Reuelation of Sainct Iohn. […], London: […] H[enry] Binneman, for...
- Hovv vvondrouſly vvould he her face commend, / Aboue that Idole of his fayning thought, / That all the vvorld ſhold vvith his rimes be fraught?1596, Edm[und] Spenser, “An Hymne of Heavenly Beautie”, in Fowre Hymnes, London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, page 43
- Antonyms:
- unfraught
fraught meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
fraught in Tamil
- சுமை, மூடை, கப்பற்சரக்கு, சுமையேற்றப்பட்ட, நிரப்பப்பட்ட, ஆர்ந்த
fraught in Urdu
- بھرا ہوا, لدا, پر, کھیپ
fraught in Bengali
- বিপদ, দুশ্চিন্তায় পূর্ণ
fraught in Malayalam
- filled with, full of, rife with
- ഉള്ള, നിറഞ്ഞ, പൂരിതമായ, ഉൾക്കൊണ്ട, ഭരിത, മയ
- worried, anxious, stressed
- ഭയാക്രാന്തമായ, ചിന്താകുലതയുള്ള, വേവലാതിയുള്ള, ഉന്മനായിത, വ്യാകുലതയുള്ള, പരിഭ്രമമുള്ള
More languagesFewer languages
- fraught in Kannada
- ತುಂಬಿದ
- fraught in Arabic
- مَمْلُوء mamlūʔ
- fraught in Persian
- آکنده âkande
Examples of fraught in a sentence
- The fraught of this Ship being concluded to be Cedar, by the diligence of the Maſter, and Captaine Smith, ſhe vvas quickly reladed: […]1624, Iohn [i.e., John] Smith, “The Arrivall of the Phœnix; Her Returne; and Other Accidents”, in The Generall Historie of Virginia...
- Tvvo Marchants departing from Spaine to get gold, touched vpon part of Barbary; vvhere […] the other fraughteth his veſſel vvith ſheep: […]1625, Peter Heylyn, “Of Peruana”, in Μικρόκοσμος [Mikrókosmos]. A Little Description of the Great World. […], revised edition, Oxford...
- [H]is vvife, out of vvhoſe flocke the Ram vvas taken, had by inceſtuous copulation vvith her huſbands Nephevv fraughted her ſelfe vvith a yong one.1612, [John Selden], “The First Song. Illustrations.”, in Michael Drayton, edited by [John Selden], Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall...
- […] King Henry [VIII] full fraught all thoſe vvith vvealth and revvards, vvhom he retained in his imployment.a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, “Cornwall”, in The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam]...
Synonyms of fraught
Antonyms
Forms of fraught
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | fraughts |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | fraughts |
| present participle | fraughting |
| past participle | fraught |
| past | fraught |
| past participle | fraughted |
| past | fraughted |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | fraughtest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | fraughtedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | fraughteth |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more fraught |
| superlative | most fraught |
| comparative (rare) | fraughter |
| superlative (rare) | fraughtest |
Origin of fraught
From Middle English fraught, fraght, freght (“transport of goods or people (usually by water); charge for such transport; facilities for such transport; cargo or passengers of a ship; ballast of a ship; goods in general; (figurative) burden; charge”), from Middle Dutch vracht, vrecht, or Middle Low German vracht, vrecht (“cargo, freight; charge for transport of goods”), from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz, from *fra- (intensifying prefix) + Proto-Germanic *aihtiz (“acquisition; possessions, property”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to come into possession of, obtain; to own, possess”)). Doublet of freight. Cognates * Danish fragt * Old English ǣht (“livestock; property; possession; power”) * Old High German frēht (“earnings”) (modern German fracht) * Swedish frakt
The verb is derived from Middle English fraughten, fraghten, freghten (“to hire (a ship, etc.) for transporting goods; to load (a ship, etc.) with cargo or passengers; to store, stow away; (figurative) to provide an ample supply of (goods, income, etc.)”), from Middle Dutch vrachten, vrechten, from vracht, vrecht (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs). The adjective is derived from Middle English fraught, fraght (“burdened, loaded”), the past participle of fraughten, fraghten (verb) (see above).
Words formed from fraught
- befraught
- disfraught
- enfraught
- fraughtage
- fraught-free
- fraughtness
- fatefraught
- unfraught
- fraughting
- overfraught
- refraught
- fate-fraught
- full-fraught
Words that rhyme with fraught
Questions about fraught
- What does fraught mean?
- Fraught means the hire of a boat or ship to transport cargo.
- What is fraught in Tamil?
- Fraught in Tamil is சுமை, மூடை, கப்பற்சரக்கு. See Fraught meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use fraught in a sentence?
- The fraught of this Ship being concluded to be Cedar, by the diligence of the Maſter, and Captaine Smith, ſhe vvas quickly reladed: […]
- What part of speech is fraught?
- Fraught can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce fraught?
- Fraught is pronounced /fɹɔːt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of fraught?
- The plural of fraught is fraughts.
Words near fraught in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fraught (page history and authors); fraught (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fraught (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fraught (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fraught (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); fraught (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “fraught.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fraught. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.