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

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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Coupled with fewer compliance burdens, stronger social security, and an expanded definition of employees to include gig workers, these reforms could help formalise India's vast informal economy, experts say.

Read more on BBC

Beyond that, they said, “Most developers and open-source models, and almost all deployments of today’s technology, should have minimal additional regulatory burden.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Lyons said he was "not prepared to put more burden" on workers and said revenue raising would "fall on the backs of the same people... already getting hammered".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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