Standard Lemma guide

cabotage

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈkæbətɪd͡ʒ/
  • UK, US: /ˈkabətɑːʒ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AE1 B AH0 T IH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The right to engage in such transport.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The exclusive right of a country to control such transport.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

navigation in coastal waters

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: seafaring, navigation, sailing

5

noun

Meaning 5

the exclusive right of a country to control the air traffic within its borders

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: right

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French cabotage (“coasting trade”), from caboter (“to travel by the coast”). It originally (16th c.) referred to restrictions allowing only French ships to trade or transport between French ports. Other countries adopted this concept and extended it to land and air travel.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: cabotatge — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Danish: cabotage — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Dutch: cabotage — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Finnish: kabotaasi — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Galician: cabotaxe — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • German: Kabotage — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Greek: ακτοπλοΐα (aktoploḯa) — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Indonesian: kabotase — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Italian: cabotaggio — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Malay: kabotaj — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kabotasje — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Portuguese: cabotagem — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Russian: кабота́ж (kabotáž) — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Spanish: cabotaje — transport of goods or passengers in the same country
  • Danish: cabotage — the legal right
  • Dutch: cabotage — the legal right
  • Finnish: kabotaasi — the legal right
  • Finnish: kabotaasioikeus — the legal right
  • German: Kabotage — the legal right
  • Greek: ακτοπλοΐα (aktoploḯa) — the legal right
  • Indonesian: kabotase — the legal right
  • Italian: cabotaggio — the legal right
  • Malay: kabotaj — the legal right
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kabotasje — the legal right
  • Spanish: cabotaje — the legal right