payload

American  

[pay-lohd] / ˈpeɪˌloʊd /

noun

• payloads
  plural

1. the part of a cargo producing revenue or income, usually expressed in weight.

2. the number of paying passengers, as on an airplane.

3. Aerospace, Military.

   1. the bomb load, warhead, cargo, or passengers of an aircraft, a rocket, missile, etc., for delivery at a target or destination.

   2. the total complement of equipment carried by a spacecraft for the performance of a particular mission in space.

   3. the explosive energy of the warhead of a missile or of the bomb load of an aircraft.

      a payload of 50 megatons.

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payload British  

/ ˈpeɪˌləʊd /

noun

1. that part of a cargo earning revenue

2. 1. the passengers, cargo, or bombs carried by an aircraft

   2. the equipment carried by a rocket, satellite, or spacecraft

3. the explosive power of a warhead, bomb, etc, carried by a missile or aircraft

   a missile carrying a 50-megaton payload

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• payloads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of payload

First recorded in 1925–30; pay ¹ + load

Explanation

Payload is what a vehicle carries. If you have a plane with a payload of one ton, then that plane can carry one ton (including you and the snacks you may bring aboard). Often, payload is estimated to be everything on board a vehicle that's worth money, or that produces income for the vehicle's owner. In the case of a commercial jet, that might be all the paying passengers. In other cases, a truck, ship, or plane's payload includes every single person and item on board, including the flight crew and fuel. From about 1936, payload frequently referred to bombs carried by a military plane or missile.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

payload payloads

For the next satellite, the agency's third, "we aim to move toward developing our own technology -- specifically, our own payload to be flown on the satellite."

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

SpaceX says the rocket has a payload capacity of more than 100 metric tons, or more than four times that of its popular Falcon 9.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The latest iteration of one, the Neptune, can travel over 620 miles, with a payload of around 570 pounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Backed by Boeing's investment arm, US-based Reliable Robotics is currently testing its system on the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, a single-pilot cargo plane that can carry about 1360kg of payload over hundreds of kilometers.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

When it was announced that John Glenn would return to space as a payload specialist in 1998, an outcry arose.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Rocket Lab’s current launch vehicle, the Electron rocket, is designed to transport small satellites and other payloads, while Neutron can carry heavier payloads to orbit.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

At least a third of them carried live payloads.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The satellite was among several payloads loaded on a rocket that lifted off from California just after 11:30 a.m. local time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Their explosive payloads did not detonate, and it’s entirely possible they were never meant to.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

Hardtack would also test Livermore bombs of both “clean” and dirty varieties, and payloads of differing shapes and sizes.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik