load

pronunciation

How to pronounce load in British English: UK [ləʊd]word uk audio image

How to pronounce load in American English: US [loʊd] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    weight to be borne or conveyed
    a quantity that can be processed or transported at one time
    goods carried by a large vehicle
    an amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate
    the power output of a generator or power plant
    an onerous or difficult concern
    a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
    the front part of a guided missile or rocket or torpedo that carries the nuclear or explosive charge or the chemical or biological agents
    electrical device to which electrical power is delivered
  • Verb:
    fill or place a load on
    provide with munition
    put (something) on a structure or conveyance

Word Origin

load
load: [OE] Load originally meant ‘way, course’ and ‘conveyance, carriage’. It goes back to prehistoric Germanic *laithō, which also lies behind English lead ‘conduct’. Not until the 13th century did it begin to move over to its current sense ‘burden’, under the direct influence of lade [OE] (a verb of Germanic origin which now survives mainly in its past participial adjective laden and the derived noun ladle [OE]). The word’s original sense ‘way’ is preserved in lodestar [14], etymologically a ‘guiding star’, and lodestone [16], likewise a ‘guiding stone’, named from its use as a compass.=> laden, lead
load (v.)
late 15c., "to place in or on a vehicle," from load (n.). Transitive sense of "to put a load in or on" is from c. 1500; of firearms from 1620s. Of a vehicle, "to fill with passengers," from 1832. Related: Loaded; loaden (obs.); loading.
load (n.)
"that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," c. 1200, from Old English lad "way, course, carrying," from Proto-Germanic *laitho (cognates: Old High German leita, German leite, Old Norse leið "way, course"); related to Old English lædan "to guide," from PIE *leit- "to go forth" (see lead (v.)). Sense shifted 13c. to supplant words based on lade, to which it is not etymologically connected; original association with "guide" is preserved in lodestone. Meaning "amount customarily loaded at one time" is from c. 1300. Figurative sense of "burden weighing on the mind, heart, or soul" is first attested 1590s. Meaning "amount of work" is from 1946. Colloquial loads "lots, heaps" is attested from c. 1600. Phrase take a load off (one's) feet "sit down, relax" is from 1914, American English. Get a load of "take a look at" is American English colloquial, attested from 1929.

Antonym

vt. & vi.

unload

Example

1. A site written entirely in flash wouldn 't even load .
2. Twice , the youtube app failed to load any content .
3. This option can be used multiple times to load multiple config files .
4. Sites will load on fire faster than they have on any other mobile device .
5. Also explore some advanced options for the charting application to load and render faster .

more: >How to Use "load" with Example Sentences