load

American  

[lohd] / loʊd /

noun

• loads
  plural

1. anything put in or on something for conveyance or transportation; freight; cargo.

   The truck carried a load of watermelons.

2. the quantity that can be or usually is carried at one time, as in a cart.

   The maximum load for a wagon that size is only about 70 pounds.

3. this quantity taken as a unit of measure or weight or a discrete quantity (usually used in combination).

   carload;

   wagonload.

4. the quantity borne or sustained by something; burden.

   a tree weighed down by its load of fruit.

5. the weight supported by a structure or part.

6. the amount of work assigned to or to be done by a person, team, department, machine, or mechanical system; workload.

   An additional intern or assistant might lighten the load for the current staff on this project.

7. something that weighs down or oppresses like a burden; onus.

   Supporting her younger brothers has been a heavy load for her.

   Synonyms:

   encumbrance, weight

8. Informal. loads, a great quantity or number.

   loads of fun;

   loads of people.

9. the charge, projectile, etc., for a firearm.

10. a commission charged to buyers of mutual-fund shares.

11. Engineering. any of the forces that a structure is calculated to oppose, comprising any unmoving and unvarying force dead load, any load from wind or earthquake, and any other moving or temporary force live load.

12. Electricity.

    1. the power delivered by a generator, motor, power station, or transformer.

    2. a device that receives power.

13. Mechanics. the external resistance overcome by an engine, dynamo, or the like, under given conditions, measured and expressed in terms of the power required.

14. Geology. the burden of sediment being carried by a stream or river.

15. Slang. a sufficient amount of liquor drunk to cause intoxication.

    He's got a load on tonight.

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verb (used with object)

• loads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• loaded,
  past participle,  past
• loading
  present participle

1. to put a load on or in; fill.

   to load a ship.

   Synonyms:

   lade

2. to insert a charge, projectile, etc., into (a firearm).

3. to supply abundantly, lavishly, or excessively with something (often followed bydown ).

   They loaded us down with gifts.

4. to weigh down, burden, or oppress (often followed by down, with, on, etc.).

   to feel loaded down with responsibilities;

   to load oneself with obligations.

   Synonyms:

   encumber, weight

   Antonyms:

   disburden

5. to place (film, tape, etc.) into a camera or other device.

   He’s the employee responsible for loading and threading the film into the projector.

6. to place film, tape, etc., into (a camera or other device).

   The camera operator loaded the film magazine for the shoot, watched by the impatient director of photography.

7. to take on as a load.

   a ship loading coal.

8. to add to the weight of, sometimes fraudulently.

   The silver candlesticks were loaded with lead.

9. Insurance. to increase (the net premium) by adding charges, as for expenses.

10. to add additional or prejudicial meaning to (a statement, question, etc.).

    The attorney kept loading his questions in the hope of getting the reply he wanted.

11. to overcharge (a word, expression, etc.) with extraneous values of emotion, sentiment, or the like.

    emotion that loads any reference to home, flag, and mother.

12. to weight (dice) so that they will always come to rest with particular faces upward.

13. Baseball. to have or put runners at (first, second, and third bases).

    They loaded the bases with two out in the eighth inning.

14. Fine Arts.

    1. to place a large amount of pigment on (a brush).

    2. to apply a thick layer of pigment to (a canvas).

15. Metalworking.

    1. (of metal being deep-drawn) to become welded to (the drawing tool).

    2. (of material being ground) to fill the depressions in the surface of (a grinding wheel).

    3. (in powder metallurgy) to fill the cavity of (a die).

16. Computers.

    1. to bring (a program or data) into main storage from external or auxiliary storage.

    2. to make (an aspect of a program or website) visible, audible, playable, or otherwise executable.

       Your character is stuck in elevators between levels while the game loads the next world.

    3. to place (an input/output medium) into an appropriate device, as by inserting a disk into a disk drive.

17. Electricity. to add (a power-absorbing device) to an electric circuit.

verb (used without object)

• loads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• loaded,
  past participle,  past
• loading
  present participle

1. to put on or take on a load, as of passengers or goods.

   The bus usually loads at the side door.

2. to load a firearm.

3. to enter a carrier or conveyance (usually followed byinto ).

   The students loaded quickly into the buses.

4. to become filled or occupied.

   The ship loaded with people in only 15 minutes.

5. Computers. to make an aspect of a program or website visible, audible, playable, or otherwise executable.

   Is your operating system to blame if your browser is loading slow?

adjective

1. Computers. of or relating to the process of making an aspect of a program or website visible, audible, playable, or otherwise executable.

   The page load time was affecting ad revenue.

   Players have complained about texture load issues, but this should be addressed in the next patch.

adverb

1. Informal. loads, very much; a great deal.

   Thanks loads.

   It would help loads if you sent some money.

idioms

1. get a load of,

   1. to look at; notice; observe.

      Get a load of those crazy shoes!

   2. to listen to with interest.

      Did you get a load of what she said?

2. load the dice, to put someone or something in an advantageous or disadvantageous position; affect or influence the result.

   Lack of sufficient education loaded the dice against him as a candidate for the job.

load British  

/ ləʊd /

noun

1. something to be borne or conveyed; weight

2. 1. the usual amount borne or conveyed

   2. ( in combination )

      a carload

3. something that weighs down, oppresses, or burdens

   that's a load off my mind

4. a single charge of a firearm

5. the weight that is carried by a structure See also dead load live load

6. electrical engineering electronics

   1. a device that receives or dissipates the power from an amplifier, oscillator, generator, or some other source of signals

   2. the power delivered by a machine, generator, circuit, etc

7. the force acting on a component in a mechanism or structure

8. the resistance overcome by an engine or motor when it is driving a machine, etc

9. an external force applied to a component or mechanism

10. informal a quantity of

    a load of nonsense

11. informal pay attention to

12. slang to be intoxicated

13. slang (of a man) to ejaculate at orgasm

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verb

1. (also intr) to place or receive (cargo, goods, etc) upon (a ship, lorry, etc)

2. to burden or oppress

3. to supply or beset (someone) with in abundance or overwhelmingly

   they loaded her with gifts

4. to cause to be biased

   to load a question

5. (also intr) to put an ammunition charge into (a firearm)

6. photog to position (a film, cartridge, or plate) in (a camera)

7. to weight or bias (a roulette wheel, dice, etc)

8. insurance to increase (a premium) to cover expenses, etc

9. to draw power from (an electrical device, such as a generator)

10. to add material of high atomic number to (concrete) to increase its effectiveness as a radiation shield

11. to increase the power output of (an electric circuit)

12. to increase the work required from (an engine or motor)

13. to apply force to (a mechanism or component)

14. computing to transfer (a program) to a memory

15. 1. to add weights to dice in order to bias them

    2. to arrange to have a favourable or unfavourable position

load Scientific  

/ lōd /

1. The resistance, weight, or power drain sustained by a machine or electrical circuit.

2. Compare effort

3. The power output of a generator or power plant.

4. The amount of a pathogen or toxic substance present in an organism.

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load More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing load

• bricks shy of a load
• carbo load
• get a load of
• take the load off

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Synonym Usage

Load, burden referred originally to something placed on a person or animal or put into a vehicle for conveyance. Both load and burden are still used in this literal sense, though burden only infrequently, except in such fixed phrases as beast of burden and a ship of 1,500 tons burden (carrying capacity). Both words have come to be used figuratively to refer to duties, cares, etc., that are oppressively heavy, and this is now the main meaning of burden : You have taken a load off my mind. If work feels like a burden, you may be experiencing burnout.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reload
  noun
• underload
  verb (used with object)
• loadless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• loads
  plural

Participles

• loading
  present
• loaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• load
  simple
• loads
  simple
• have loaded
  perfect
• has loaded
  perfect
• am loading
  progressive
• are loading
  progressive
• is loading
  progressive
• have been loading
  perfect progressive
• has been loading
  perfect progressive

Past

• loaded
  simple
• had loaded
  perfect
• was loading
  progressive
• were loading
  progressive
• had been loading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will load
  simple
• will have loaded
  perfect
• will be loading
  progressive
• will have been loading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of load

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun lad(e), lod(e); originally the same word as lode ( def. ) ( Old English lād “way, course, carrying”); senses influenced by lade ( def. )

Explanation

A load is a bundle of stuff that has to be carried. You might spend your days hauling loads of hay into a barn and your evenings dragging loads of dirty clothes into the laundry room. Loads need to be picked up and hauled somewhere, like a load of firewood in a pickup truck or a load of supplies in a hiker's backpack. There are figurative loads too — the responsibility, hardship, or worry that you carry around with you: "Her teaching load is light, which is good because her sick cat is a heavy load on her mind." As a verb, load means "fill," like when you load your lunch box with Twinkies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

load loads loaded loading

“People really are saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to do a full load of groceries or I’m going to put my electric bill on a credit card this month.’

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Reports at the time indicated that the club could have gone into bankruptcy over its massive debt load.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt retired the first two batters in the eighth before giving up a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Luckily it was a Sunday, otherwise the load would have already ended up in landfill," the boss told Italian broadcaster TGCOM24.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

He considered running, but with the load he was carrying, he didn't have a chance of escaping.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Cruise giants watched revenues collapse as debt loads ballooned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"I'm going to take two telescopes, some equipment and offer experiences for all ages. UK Astronomy has donated loads of solar glasses," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

“There’s loads of different types of intimacy going on,” Talbot said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The catering truck, which typically loads in-flight meals, parked on the right side of Air Force One, partially shielded from media cameras.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

The Kid still raced at the bridge, Samuel nodded and walked on, Horse and Bones kicked at each other, and the yellow buses still came in with their loads of solemn farm kids.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

They are also headaches taking up roster spots in an NIL-enriched landscape where teams are loaded with players finding ways to stick around long after most undergrads have entered the workforce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

In Cali, in the southwest, Jorge Leon described the pain of "starting all over again" as he walked beside a yellow truck loaded with his belongings.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Klare is part of a loaded position group that includes veterans Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and second-year pro Terrance Ferguson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Earlier this week, authorities tried to increase the water flow to the plant - which uses the Danube for cooling - by sinking barges loaded with rocks in the river.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Spanish treasure galleons were soon sailing home loaded with riches from mines in Mexico and Peru.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Some of the most popular new technologies were designed to take over the least desirable jobs in warehouses, tasks that require physical labor like loading and unloading trucks or picking merchandise for online orders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

One of the final major tests before launch integration will involve loading cryogenic propellants.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

The drill was held hours after President Lai Ching-te visited the nearby Taipei Port where he observed the loading of missiles and mines onto ships.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Olejniczak Marodi was captured on the security camera gathering pets and luggage and loading them into a Chevrolet Equinox SUV, according to the warrant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

He was hanging out on the loading dock while everybody else hustled their butts off.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• amount
• bundle
• capacity
• consignment
• goods
• haul
• payload
• shipment
• weight