laden
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
verb
adjective
-
weighed down with a load; loaded
-
encumbered; burdened
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of laden
Explanation
Something that is laden is weighted down by something heavy, like an apple tree that's laden with fruit. Laden comes from the Old English word hladan, meaning "to load, heap." Think of the related word ladle, a big scoop you dip into something, such as soup or hot fudge. Laden can be a verb that describes using a ladle or otherwise filling or loading something up, like a teacher who ladens students with homework. Laden can be an adjective that describes the feeling of burden or stress from all that work.
Vocabulary lists containing laden
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"Of Mice and Men"
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NAEP Test Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Osama bin Laden was leading al Qaeda, the liar loans that soon prompted the Great Recession were being issued, and our capital was awash in muck and corruption.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
To be sure, one counterargument to the “good enough” narrative is that bin Laden envisioned al-Qaida as “the base” on which other groups could then build their Islamist groups and overthrow secular states.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026
Before one game, U.S. manager Mark DeRosa invited Robert O’Neill, one of the members of the Navy Seal team that killed Osama bin Laden, to address the team.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
Former president Barack Obama released a Situation Room view when Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan in 2011.
From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026
There was a war going on in Afghanistan, a new color-coded threat advisory system being used in the United States, and Osama bin Laden was apparently hiding somewhere in a cave.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
