payload

American  

[pey-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

And there are more targets available now with a potentially bigger payload.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

There, the payload will be attached to the Falcon Heavy rocket.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Maguras are 25-foot-long unmanned speedboats that can carry a payload of more than 1,700 pounds for more than 350 miles, according to Uforce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The project also included researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and members of the Chang'e 7 volatile payload team.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

When we opened the boxes up, we found a payload of raunchy, orangey red T-shirts faded out in places and with the odd ripped seam adding character.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

The platform can carry poorly soluble drugs at relatively high concentrations and can be adapted for different therapeutic payloads and joint applications.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

IM-3 will deploy Altus-1 into lunar orbit along with its three payloads.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Next, he wants his troops to practice using them with actual payloads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Falcon 9 has been delivering payloads to space for more than 15 years at a rising pace: The company launched 165 of them last year, or nearly one every other day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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