What does "load" mean?
A burden; a weight to be carried.
Load
/loʊd/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A burden; a weight to be carried.
- Grammar: load is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: burden, cargo, freight, payload.
- Useful contrasts: empty, empty void, unburdened.
- Usage evidence: The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone.
How to use "load"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "load" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "load" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "load" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "load" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "load" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "burden" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "load", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A burden; a weight to be carried.
"I struggled up the hill with the heavy load in my rucksack."
- 2 A person that spends all day online. The term was originally used in the late 1980s to describe users on free Q-Link (later America Online) accounts who never signed off the system at great expense to the company. Internet, obsolete
"She never logs off; she is a real LOAD!"
- 3 goods carried by a large vehicle wordnet
- 4 A worry or concern to be endured, especially in the phrase a load off one's mind. figuratively
"Our life's a load."
- 5 weight to be borne or conveyed wordnet
Show 26 more definitions
- 6 A certain number of articles or quantity of material that can be transported or processed at one time.
"The truck overturned while carrying a full load of oil."
- 7 electrical device to which electrical power is delivered wordnet
- 8 A quantity of washing put into a washing machine for a wash cycle.
"I put a load on before we left."
- 9 the front part of a guided missile or rocket or torpedo that carries the nuclear or explosive charge or the chemical or biological agents wordnet
- 10 Used to form nouns that indicate a large quantity, often corresponding to the capacity of a vehicle in-compounds
- 11 an onerous or difficult concern wordnet
- 12 A large number or amount. colloquial, in-plural, often
"I got loads of presents for my birthday!"
- 13 a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks wordnet
- 14 The volume of work required to be performed.
"Will our web servers be able to cope with that load?"
- 15 the power output of a generator or power plant wordnet
- 16 The force exerted on a structural component such as a beam, girder, cable etc.
"Each of the cross-members must withstand a tensile load of 1,000 newtons."
- 17 an amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate wordnet
- 18 The electrical current or power delivered by a device.
"I'm worried that the load on that transformer will be too high."
- 19 a quantity that can be processed or transported at one time wordnet
- 20 A resistive force encountered by a prime mover when performing work.
- 21 Any component that draws current or power from an electrical circuit.
"Connect a second 24-ohm load across the power supply's output terminals."
- 22 A unit of measure for various quantities.
"If this load equals its modern representative, it contains 18 cwt. of dry, 19 of new hay."
- 23 Ellipsis of viral load. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 24 A very small explosive inserted as a gag into a cigarette or cigar.
- 25 The charge of powder for a firearm; a loaded cartridge or round of ammunition.
"With the thought he he arose and removed his rifle from its boot. He looked to its loads and saw that the magazine was full. Then he inspected his revolver."
- 26 Weight or violence of blows. obsolete
"Far heavier load thyself expect to feel From my prevailing arm"
- 27 defecation slang, vulgar
- 28 The contents (e.g. semen) of an ejaculation. slang, vulgar
"Already, Robbie had dumped a load into his dad, and now, before my very eyes, was Alan's own cock lube seeping out of Robbie's crinkled but fleshy sphincter."
- 29 Nonsense; rubbish. euphemistic
"What a load!"
- 30 The process of loading something, i.e. transferring it into memory or over a network, etc.
"All of those uncompressed images are going to slow down the page load."
- 31 prepaid phone credit Philippines
Verb
- 1 To put a load on or in (a means of conveyance or a place of storage). transitive
"The dock workers refused to load the ship."
- 2 corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones wordnet
- 3 To place in or on a conveyance or a place of storage. transitive
"The longshoremen loaded the cargo quickly."
- 4 fill or place a load on wordnet
- 5 To put a load on something. intransitive
"The truck was supposed to leave at dawn, but in fact we spent all morning loading."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 provide (a device) with something necessary wordnet
- 7 To receive a load. intransitive
"The truck is designed to load easily."
- 8 put (something) on a structure or conveyance wordnet
- 9 To be placed into storage or conveyance. intransitive
"The containers load quickly and easily."
- 10 transfer from a storage device to a computer's memory wordnet
- 11 To fill (a firearm or artillery) with munition. transitive
"I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I had forgotten to load the gun."
- 12 To insert (an item or items) into an apparatus so as to ready it for operation, such as a reel of film into a camera, sheets of paper into a printer etc. transitive
"Now that you've loaded the film [into the camera], you're ready to start shooting."
- 13 To fill (an apparatus) with raw material. transitive
"The workers loaded the blast furnace with coke and ore."
- 14 To be put into use in an apparatus. intransitive
"The cartridge was designed to load easily."
- 15 To read (data or a program) from a storage medium into computer memory. transitive
"Click OK to load the selected data."
- 16 To transfer from a storage medium into computer memory. intransitive
"The file took ten minutes to load."
- 17 To put runners on first, second and third bases transitive
"He walks to load the bases."
- 18 To tamper with so as to produce a biased outcome. transitive
"You can load the dice in your favour by researching the company before your interview."
- 19 To ask or adapt a question so that it will be more likely to be answered in a certain way. transitive
- 20 To encumber with something negative, to place as an encumbrance. transitive
"The new owners had loaded the company with debt."
- 21 To provide in abundance. transitive
"He loaded his system with carbs before the marathon."
- 22 To weight (a cane, whip, etc.) with lead or similar. transitive
- 23 To adulterate or drug. archaic, slang, transitive
"to load wine"
- 24 To magnetize. archaic, transitive
"one oscillation of the loaded magnet,"
- 25 to top up or purchase phone credits Philippines
Antonyms
Example
"The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "load"?
Common synonyms include: burden, cargo, freight, payload, shipment, a lot of homework.
How do you use "load" in a sentence?
The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone.
How do you pronounce "load"?
Pronounced /loʊd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The sense of “burden” first arose in the 13th century as a secondary meaning of Middle English lode, loade, which had the main significance of “way, course, journey”, from Old English lād (“course, journey; way, street, waterway; leading, carrying; maintenance, support”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *laidō (“leading, way”), Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to go, go forth, die”). Cognate with Middle Low German leide (“entourage, escort”), German Leite (“line, course, load”), Swedish led (“way, trail, line”), Icelandic leið (“way, course, route”). As such, load is a doublet of lode, which has preserved the older meaning. Most likely, the semantic extension of the Middle English substantive arose by conflation with the (etymologically unrelated) verb lade; however, Middle English lode occurs only as a substantive; the transitive verb load (“to charge with a load”) is recorded only in the 16th century (frequently in Shakespeare), and (except for the participle laden) has largely supplanted lade in modern English. For the meaning development from PIE, compare Latin carrus (whence carry) akin to currō.
Etymology 2
Acronym of living online all day.