burden
1 Americannoun
-
that which is carried; load.
a horse's burden of rider and pack.
-
that which is borne with difficulty; obligation; onus.
the burden of leadership.
- Synonyms:
- impediment, encumbrance, weight
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Nautical.
-
the weight of a ship's cargo.
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the carrying capacity of a ship.
-
-
Mining. overburden.
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Metallurgy. the minerals charged into a blast furnace or steelmaking furnace.
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Accounting. overhead.
noun
-
something that is carried; load
-
something that is exacting, oppressive, or difficult to bear
the burden of responsibility
-
nautical
-
the cargo capacity of a ship
-
the weight of a ship's cargo
-
verb
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(sometimes foll by up) to put or impose a burden on; load
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to weigh down; oppress
the old woman was burdened with cares
noun
-
a line of words recurring at the end of each verse of a ballad or similar song; chorus or refrain
-
the principal or recurrent theme of a speech, book, etc
-
another word for bourdon
Synonym Usage
See load.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
burdensimple
-
burdenssimple
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have burdenedperfect
-
has burdenedperfect
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am burdeningprogressive
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are burdeningprogressive
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is burdeningprogressive
-
have been burdeningperfect progressive
-
has been burdeningperfect progressive
Past
-
burdenedsimple
-
had burdenedperfect
-
was burdeningprogressive
-
were burdeningprogressive
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had been burdeningperfect progressive
Future
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!
Vocabulary lists containing burden
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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.
See Examples For:
A higher value indicates a higher debt burden relative to what can be afforded.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
By day 6, the bacterial burden was 33.4-fold higher.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
"We live with the burden of decisions made elsewhere."
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Naomi added that Marie Curie have called for the implementation of a "social tariff" for people with terminal illnesses, to ease their financial burden.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
How he calls aloud a name, and drops his burden, and gazes on it wildly!
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
“Probate can add costs, administrative burdens and stress for families during a period of grief. It also impacts privacy and can complicate asset management.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026
It increases burdens on the patient, physician, and the entire healthcare system.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
“The proposed rule may create significant new compliance burdens and legal uncertainty for institutions already operating in accordance with existing nondiscrimination requirements ... “ the statement said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Washington has framed its host year around limiting regulatory burdens and promoting new technologies.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
My grandfather seemed so small and defeated then, bowed under the weight of history and the burdens of the future.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
By uncovering this hidden complexity, scientists hope to improve disease detection, develop more reliable treatments, and reduce the crop losses that have long burdened mushroom producers.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
The trade war also can be expected to hit U.S. consumers already burdened by higher prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Convery has nicely feathered hair and a character burdened by the plot’s corniest contrivances: a bully stubbornly pursuing him to the literal end of civilization, a lost pet dog that he’s determined to rescue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Earlier this year Greece's tourism minister said she did not want visitors to be "burdened" by bureaucratic procedures when entering or leaving the country.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Snowden was lying on his back on the floor with his legs stretched out, still burdened cumbersomely by his flak suit, his flak helmet, his parachute harness and his Mae West.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
“There are probably an infinite number of ways. I think the right question is: What is the right and fairest way to share the cost without unduly burdening anyone?”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
But others say Seoul has few realistic options for retaliation without further burdening border residents already exposed to disruption and danger.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Secure ballot envelope identifiers provide a reliable, auditable mechanism to enforce Federal law without unduly burdening or infringing on the rights of eligible voters,” the order reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
But it has raised concerns about burdening Louisiana electricity customers with the higher costs of additional energy infrastructure, especially if demand from Meta eventually dries up, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Based on numbers, it has a limitless complexity to engage the ingenuity and creativity of its adherents, without burdening them with the need for validation or testing.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
