unload
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take the load from; remove the cargo or freight from.
to unload a truck; to unload a cart.
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to remove or discharge (a load, group of people, etc.).
to unload passengers.
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to remove the charge from (a firearm).
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to relieve of anything burdensome, oppressive, etc..
He unloaded his responsibilities.
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to get rid of (goods, shares of stock, etc.) by sale in large quantities.
verb (used without object)
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to unload something.
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Informal. to relieve one's stress by talking, confessing, or the like.
verb
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to remove a load or cargo from (a ship, lorry, etc)
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to discharge (cargo, freight, etc)
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(tr) to relieve of a burden or troubles
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(tr) to give vent to (anxiety, troubles, etc)
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(tr) to get rid of or dispose of (esp surplus goods)
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(tr) to remove the charge of ammunition from (a firearm)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unload
Explanation
To unload is to remove cargo from a vehicle or shipping carton. Unload can also mean to discharge or get rid of something, or to get something off your chest. A clothing store might unload (remove) a hundred cartons from the delivery truck, and then unload (unpack) shirts and pants from the cartons. If a carton of clothes is imperfect, the store might send them back or unload (dispossess themselves of) them by selling them cheaply to a factory-seconds outlet. Then the store manager, depending on her mood, might unload on (give a tongue-lashing to) the manufacturer for shipping shoddy products.
Vocabulary lists containing unload
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sure, it’s easier to load and unload the dishwasher and put away the laundry yourself, but we miss the opportunity if we don’t bring the next generation into the labor.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Just across the road from the site of the first international conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, in Colombia, oil tankers routinely unload at the Pozos Colorados terminal, with its large tank farm.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026
Fire crews are expected to remain on site while arrangements are made to unload any affected cargo and the public has been advised to avoid the dock area if possible.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
Between trials, the ants could unload their collected food, and the testing surface was replaced to prevent them from following their own pheromone trails.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026
As she helped her family unload the U-Haul, ideas tumbled around Emily’s head of how Mr. Griswold’s disappearance could be launched into a game.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
