manifest

MAN-ih-fest

meaning in plain English

A list showing what’s on a ship or plane, like passengers or cargo.

Think of a ship’s manifest as its master list—every passenger and cargo written down, like a roll call for the voyage.

for example

The captain checked the manifest to make sure all the passengers were accounted for before takeoff.

Imagine you’re packing a suitcase and writing down everything you put in it—you’re making a manifest of your belongings. Why do ships and planes keep these lists? So they know exactly what’s moving from one place to another.