load

[ lohd ]

noun

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. loads, Informal. 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. Compare bed load ( def ).
15. Slang. a sufficient amount of liquor drunk to cause intoxication:

    He's got a load on tonight.

verb (used with object)

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 by down ):

   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)

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 by into ):

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

   Thanks loads.

   It would help loads if you sent some money.

load

/ 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. a load of informal.
    a quantity of

    a load of nonsense

11. get a load of informal.
    pay attention to
12. have a load on slang.
    to be intoxicated
13. shoot one's load slang.
    (of a man) to ejaculate at orgasm

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. load the dice
    1. to add weights to dice in order to bias them
    2. to arrange to have a favourable or unfavourable position

load

/ 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.

Other Words From

• load·less adjective
• re·load noun verb
• un·der·load verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of load¹

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of load¹

Old English lād course; in meaning, influenced by lade ¹; related to lead ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get a load of, Slang.
   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.

More idioms and phrases containing load

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

This flexibility could allow for reduced electrical requirements for the heating system or load shifting to times when electricity is less expensive and/or cleaner.

From Science Daily

There are alternative strategies to police-first - but each is loaded with its own problems.

From BBC

Wastewater treatment plants are designed to take in thousands of gallons of wastewater from sanitary and storm sewer systems, and that water also carries a significant load of microplastics and PFAS.

From Science Daily

Around the time of Annie's death, he says he was finishing up the album but then "wrote a load of new songs", including the new single.

From BBC

The team ran more than 300,000 experiments, incrementally increasing task loads to evaluate how the models managed rising demands.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• carry
• cram
• fill
• lade
• pack
• pile
• stack
• store
• stuff