burden

¹

[bur-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.

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

[bur-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.

burden

¹

/ 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

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• burdener noun
• burdenless adjective

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of burden¹

Old English byrthen ; related to beran to _bear ¹ , Old Frisian berthene burden, Old High German burdin

Origin of burden²

C16: from Old French bourdon bass horn, droning sound, of imitative origin

Synonym Study

See load.

Example Sentences

Tariffs are placing greater compliance and financial burdens on importers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He noted that as a long list of countries struggle with high debt burdens, more governments could be tempted to pressure their central banks to lower interest rates and juice the economy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Traumatised, exhausted and still on bail, he said he found the "mental burden" of his ordeal hard to bear.

Read more on Barron's

When we removed this protein from neutrophils in mice, the arrhythmia burden after MI was reduced 12-fold.

Read more on Science Daily

Dommen explained the legislation would have placed an unfair burden on restaurants and food service providers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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