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Language Foundation

AWB

AWB, short for air waybill, is a document for a shipment of goods by air that gives the shipment details and serves as a receipt and contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier.

In plain English

It is the shipping document that identifies an air shipment and states what is being sent. It also shows that the carrier received the goods and records the transport agreement with the sender.

In context

Here, AWB refers to the shipment’s air-carriage document, or to the reference for that document, in the file.

Situation
Coordinating freight quotes, booking, consolidation, handoff, and transport documents
What it communicates
names the air transport document or reference in the shipment file.

Meaning limits

The term itself does not identify a particular shipment unless it is tied to the corresponding document or reference.

Examples

“After one carton was removed, the clerk amended the AWB to match the revised weight of the air shipment.”

Core meaning

“The damage photos were filed with the AWB for the shipment.”

In context

  • shipping document Broader Term

    An AWB is one kind of document used for the movement of goods.