Transportation | Definition & Facts | Britannica

2025.07.01 02:02

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transportation , the movement of goods and persons from place to place and the various means by which such movement is accomplished. The growth of the ability—and the need—to transport large quantities of goods or numbers of people over long distances at high speeds in comfort and safety has been an index of civilization and in particular of technological progress.

Transportation is treated in a number of articles. For the major types of propulsion used in modern forms of transportation, see energy conversion . For forms of transportation for military applications, see military technology . For the engineering infrastructure on which transportation systems depend, see roads and highways ; bridge ; canals and inland waterways ; harbours and sea works ; lighthouse ; tunnels and underground excavations . For the place of transportation in law, see air law ; carriage of goods ; maritime law .

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen .