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; 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”

Example Sentences

Both have higher burdens of proof than asylum but don’t provide a pathway to citizenship.

From Los Angeles Times

South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia were to begin on Monday administering a groundbreaking new HIV-prevention injection in the drug's first public rollouts in Africa, which has the world's highest HIV burden.

From Barron's

Apparently, Kennedy has never heard of the burden of proof or the extreme difficulty in proving a negative.

From Salon

By leveraging the threat of costly and unpredictable litigation, dominant firms burden their competitors financially and create uncertainty that undermines customer confidence in those rivals—ultimately steering business and market share toward themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal

The announcement came a week after Takaichi unveiled a substantial economic stimulus package that includes measures to help households bear the burden of rising living costs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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