haulier

IPA/ˈhɔːliə(r)/
IPA/ˈhɔːliər/

haulier — noun

  • hauliersingular
  • hauliersplural

1. a person or company whose job is to carry goods in trucks or trains for other pe

1.nounB2
Definition

a person or company whose job is to carry goods in trucks or trains for other people or businesses

Example

The firm hired a local haulier to move furniture from the port to the warehouse.

pattern: hire + haulier + to-infinitive

After the storm, several hauliers worked together to deliver food supplies to the village.

collocation: hauliers work together

Common collocations
  • local haulier
  • independent haulier
  • hire a haulier
  • haulier's licence
  • work for a haulier
Synonyms
  • hauler

    American English spelling; same meaning

  • carrier

    broader term that also covers shipping by sea or air

  • haulage contractor

    more formal, often used in business and legal documents

  • transporter

    less specific; can refer to any kind of moving company or vehicle

Usage Note

The word is the standard British spelling; the American equivalent is hauler. Common in logistics and transport-industry contexts.

Common Mistakes

The haulage arrived to pick up the cargo.
The haulier arrived to pick up the cargo.
'haulage' is the service of transporting goods, not the person or company doing the transporting.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five terms describe businesses or people that move goods, but they differ in scope and region. Haulier is the standard British word for road or rail goods transport — a corner shop owner needing stock delivered would call the company a haulier. Carrier is broader and can cover ships, aircraft, and postal services (e.g. 'a global carrier like FedEx'). A haulage contractor is a more formal, legal term often found in contracts and insurance documents. Transporter is the most general term and can refer to any vehicle or person that carries something (e.g. 'a car transporter'). Freight company focuses on large-scale commercial cargo, usually across long distances. In everyday British English, haulier is the most natural choice for local road transport; carrier feels more corporate.

haulier ↗carrier ↗haulage contractortransporter ↗freight company

Common collocations

Nouns

  • haulier business
  • haulier network
  • haulier industry

Phrases

  • local haulier
  • independent haulier
  • third-party haulier

Prepositions

  • haulier for
  • haulier with

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Haulier comes from haul (meaning 'to pull or drag') plus the agent suffix -ier, which arrived in English from Old French -ier (a variant of -er). The verb haul itself comes from Old French haler, meaning 'to pull, tow'. The spelling haulier is the standard British form; the American variant hauler appeared in the 19th century as a more regular -er formation.