burden

¹ American  

[bur-dn] / ˈbɜr dn /

noun

1. that which is carried; load.

   a horse's burden of rider and pack.

2. that which is borne with difficulty; obligation; onus.

   the burden of leadership.

   Synonyms:

   impediment, encumbrance, weight

3. Nautical.

   1. the weight of a ship's cargo.

   2. the carrying capacity of a ship.

4. Mining. overburden.

5. Metallurgy. the minerals charged into a blast furnace or steelmaking furnace.

6. Accounting. overhead.

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verb (used with object)

1. to load heavily.

2. to load oppressively; trouble.

   Synonyms:

   vex, grieve, plague, perturb, afflict, try, saddle, weigh down

burden ² American  

[bur-dn] / ˈbɜr dn /

noun

1. the main point, message, or idea.

   Synonyms:

   essence, nucleus, crux, core, substance, gist

2. Music. the refrain or recurring chorus of a song.

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burden ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːdən /

noun

1. something that is carried; load

2. something that is exacting, oppressive, or difficult to bear

   the burden of responsibility

3. nautical

   1. the cargo capacity of a ship

   2. the weight of a ship's cargo

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verb

1. (sometimes foll by up) to put or impose a burden on; load

2. to weigh down; oppress

   the old woman was burdened with cares

burden ² British  

/ ˈbɜːdən /

noun

1. a line of words recurring at the end of each verse of a ballad or similar song; chorus or refrain

2. the principal or recurrent theme of a speech, book, etc

3. another word for bourdon

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Related Words

See load.

Other Word Forms

• burdener
  noun
• burdenless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of burden¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, birthen, birden, Old English byrthen; akin to German Bürde, Gothic baurthei; see also bear ¹

Origin of burden²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bordoun, burdoun “drone, bass,” from Old French bourdon “droning sound, instrument making such a sound”

Explanation

Getting hired as the assistant to a pastry chef seemed like a dream come true. But one week and 100 cupcakes later, it’s become a hard-to-bear burden accompanied by a permanent stomachache. Burden is one of those words that doubles as a noun and a verb. Defined as something you carry or withstand with much difficulty when used as a noun, and as the act of weighing down, overloading, or oppressing when used as a verb, it’s a word with a negative charge. Now that you know what it means, you’re equipped to make sure you don’t take on unnecessary burdens (getting pressured into always carrying your neighbor’s groceries upstairs), or become one yourself!

Example Sentences

Around the world, more than 1 million amputations occur every year due to diabetes-related vascular disease, traumatic injuries, infections, and cancer, according to Global Burden of Disease statistics.

From Science Daily • May 9, 2026

The author Belle Burden recently published a buzzy memoir chronicling her own financial fallout from a divorce, where she said the prenup didn’t protect her interests.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Burden wasn’t married to a gambler, and she does not use “financial infidelity” to describe what happened to her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Burden wrote this long after the fact, when the binary nature of her marriage became self-evident.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

I followed the road to the top of Burden Hill.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Related Words

• anxiety
• concern
• difficulty
• duty
• hardship
• load
• onus
• responsibility
• strain
• task
• tax
• trouble
• worry