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Tido Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Carrier or Courier?

Hi Folks,

Just bought an item from ebay, and a reply message informed me the package is ready and will be picked up by a carrier soon. In Canada I typically see the word courier used when shipping products. Is there a difference in the usage of carrier and courier?

Cheers,
  

Top answer

Mostly, a carrier is a company that ships items. A courier is a person that delivers items, usually documents, usually short distances.

— Vorpar

  • Mostly, a carrier is a company that ships items.
  • A courier is a person that delivers items, usually documents, usually short distances.
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4 Answers
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Mostly, a carrier is a company that ships items. A courier is a person that delivers items, usually documents, usually short distances.
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Hello Tido,
This is only my opinion. Others will disagree, and they would have ample basis to do so.
Because all my dictionaries define both words so similarly, I use "courier" when speaking of a person, and "carrier" when speaking of a company that undertakes the professional conveyance of goods or people.
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Seems both your opinions are in sync, I appreciate the clarification.
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Another distinction between carriers and couriers (at least in UK) is that a courier company will collect your parcel and take it directly to its destination, whereas a carrier company will collect your parcel, take it to a local transfer point where it is transferred to another vehicle along with other parcels, and so on until your parcel arrives at its destination. Carriers are generally a lot c
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