payload

[pey-lohd]

noun

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.

payload

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of payload¹

First recorded in 1925–30; pay ¹ + load

Example Sentences

The current New Glenn vehicle is capable of carrying 45 metric tons of payload to low Earth orbit, which means that it is classified as a heavy-lift vehicle.

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The jets are extremely stealthy and can carry large payloads further than 1,300 miles.

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Nailing reusability has been key to cutting down the cost of launches and ramping up the speed at which companies can send rockets — and their payloads — into orbit.

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These deliver a chemotherapy payload directly to cancer cells.

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Switchblade 600, with its 33-pound payload, can be set up and launched from a tube by a single soldier in 10 minutes.

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