payload

American  

[pey-lohd] / ˈpeɪˌloʊd /

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.

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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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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

However, Musk is counting on using his massive Starship rocket, which is under development and can lift more than five times the payload.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

"We're looking to then increase the payload every time we have a new mission, especially as more powerful boosters come online on Ariane 6," Van Delden said.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

The massive March 10 reportedly can move a payload of 70 metric tons.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Veronica Viera, the company's payload operations lead, shows us an image that the satellite beamed back from space.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

The book also called for us to make decisions we’d never made before: How high and fast was our rocket to go, and how heavy was our payload going to be?

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam