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

Example Sentences

An Indian rocket hit a snag during its launch Monday, forcing a deviation in flight path as it carried an Earth observation satellite and commercial payloads, the country's space agency said.

From Barron's

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

From BBC

India's space agency launched its heaviest ever payload on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the deployment "a significant stride" for the space sector.

From Barron's

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.

From MarketWatch

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

From The Wall Street Journal