load
load — noun
1. the weight that a vehicle, animal, or structure is carrying or supporting at one
the weight that a vehicle, animal, or structure is carrying or supporting at one time
The truck was carrying a heavy load of bricks to the construction site.
heavy load of [material]
Engineers examined the bridge to see if it could bear the load of rush-hour traffic.
bear the load of
The donkey struggled up the mountain path under its heavy load.
A truck driver must check that the load is tied down securely before driving.
Paloma calculated the maximum load the wooden shelves could hold.
maximum load
- heavy load
- light load
- bear a load
- carry a load
- maximum load
- safe load
Grammar Patterns
a + adj + load + of + noun
2. many people or a great many things — a lot; a large quantity
many people or a great many things — a lot; a large quantity
We had a load of problems with the new software during the first week.
a load of [noun]
Don't worry — there are loads of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
loads of + plural noun
That report is a load of nonsense — none of the numbers are correct.
a load of nonsense
Hui has loads of friends from the summer camp she attended.
The teacher gave us a load of homework over the holiday weekend.
a load of homework
- a load of nonsense
- loads of people
- loads of fun
- loads of time
Grammar Patterns
a load of + noun
loads of + noun
Usage Note
Often used with 'a' in the singular form 'a load of'. The plural 'loads of' is even more informal. In negative contexts, 'a load of rubbish/nonsense' is a fixed expression.
Common Mistakes
3. the electricity that a piece of equipment consumes or that a network supplies at
the electricity that a piece of equipment consumes or that a network supplies at any particular moment
Installing air conditioners across the building increased the electrical load on the system.
electrical load
The power plant can supply a load of up to five hundred megawatts during peak hours.
supply a load of [amount]
During the heatwave, the load on the city's power grid reached a record high.
Andrés checked the circuit to see if the total load exceeded the safe limit.
total load
- electrical load
- power load
- peak load
- load on the grid
- base load
- power demand
more descriptive; what the system needs to supply
- power consumption
what a device uses, rather than what the system supplies
Usage Note
Common in technical and engineering contexts. For everyday appliances, 'power consumption' or 'electricity usage' is more natural.
4. the quantity of tasks or assignments that an individual, a device, or an organis
the quantity of tasks or assignments that an individual, a device, or an organisation must complete within a given time
Nila has a heavy teaching load this term with six classes to prepare.
heavy teaching load
The company hired two new staff to share the growing workload among the team.
share the workload
The server crashed because the processing load was far too high for its capacity.
processing load
Doctors at the clinic reported a heavier patient load after the holiday season.
patient load
Gabriel found the workload manageable after he learned to prioritise his tasks.
- heavy workload
- light workload
- workload distribution
- patient load
- caseload
Grammar Patterns
adj + load + of + noun
5. a feeling of worry, responsibility, or difficulty that weighs on your mind and i
a feeling of worry, responsibility, or difficulty that weighs on your mind and is hard to deal with
Caring for his elderly mother alone became a heavy emotional load for Yasmin.
emotional load
Confessing the truth to his family lifted a huge load from Quinn's shoulders.
lifted a load from [someone's] shoulders
The financial pressure of the mortgage felt like an unbearable load on the young couple.
Passing the final exam took a great load off my mind.
take a load off someone's mind
Mert tried to hide the load of guilt he carried after the argument.
- emotional load
- heavy load
- unbearable load
- lift a load
- take a load off one's mind
- a load of guilt
- relief
the feeling when a mental load is removed
Grammar Patterns
a load + of + emotion/noun
a load off one's mind
Usage Note
The idioms 'take a load off someone's mind' and 'lift a load from someone's shoulders' are common expressions for relief from worry.
6. the clothes and other fabric pieces that go through a washing machine together i
the clothes and other fabric pieces that go through a washing machine together in a single wash cycle
Amihan put a load of white shirts and towels into the washing machine.
a load of [clothing]
Could you hang the wet load of clothes out to dry on the line?
This machine can handle a small load of delicates on a gentle cycle.
small load of delicates
Jiwoo sorted the laundry into three separate loads: whites, colours, and towels.
- a load of laundry
- a load of washing
- do a load
- full load
- separate loads
Grammar Patterns
a load of + laundry/clothes
Usage Note
Always used with 'a' or a number. A 'full load' means the machine is filled to its recommended capacity.
get a load of
idiomused to draw attention to something surprising, funny, or impressive, asking someone to look at or listen to it
Get a load of that car — it must have cost a fortune!
Get a load of what the boss just said about the new project.
a feeling of relief because a worry or problem has been removed or solved
Finding out that my brother arrived safely was a real load off my mind.
Paying off the debt took a huge load off Christopher's mind.
This expression is used to ask someone to pay attention to a person or thing, often because it is surprising or impressive.
Get a load of that new car in the driveway!
Did you get a load of her speech at the ceremony?
load — verb
1. to put goods, objects, equipment, or passengers into a vehicle, container, or ma
to put goods, objects, equipment, or passengers into a vehicle, container, or machine so that they can be transported or moved
The warehouse workers loaded the boxes onto the delivery truck before dawn.
load + noun + onto + noun
Élise loaded her camping gear into the back of the car and set off.
load + noun + into + noun
Make sure you do not load the van beyond its maximum weight limit.
The ferry was still loading passengers when the horn sounded.
passive: loading passengers
Lakan loaded the dishwasher with the dirty plates from dinner.
load + noun + with + noun
- load onto
- load into
- load with
- load up
- load a truck
- load cargo
- load baggage
- unload
to remove items from a vehicle or container
Grammar Patterns
load + noun + into/onto + noun
load + noun + with + noun
load + up
Usage Note
The opposite is 'unload'. When the vehicle is the focus, use 'load into/onto'. When the container is the focus, use 'load with'.
Common Mistakes
2. to place an excessive quantity of tasks, items, or duties on a person or thing,
to place an excessive quantity of tasks, items, or duties on a person or thing, making it hard for them to cope
The manager loaded the new assistant with far too many tasks on the first day.
load + person + with + tasks
The small boat was loaded with more passengers than it could safely carry.
passive: loaded with + noun
Indra's schedule was loaded with back-to-back meetings from morning until evening.
Yael was loaded with five new committee assignments after the department head resigned.
passive: loaded with [assignments]
Samir loaded himself with too many freelance projects and missed his friend's birthday party.
load + oneself + with [commitments]
- loaded with work
- loaded with responsibility
- loaded with debt
- loaded down
- relieve
to take some of the load away
Grammar Patterns
be loaded with + noun
load + someone + with + noun
Usage Note
Common in the passive 'be loaded with', meaning 'be full of to an excessive degree'.
Common Mistakes
3. to contain a large amount of something, especially as a prominent or noticeable
to contain a large amount of something, especially as a prominent or noticeable feature
The pizza was loaded with cheese, mushrooms, and slices of pepperoni.
loaded with [ingredients]
The new smartphone is loaded with features that older models do not have.
loaded with features
His speech was loaded with references to the company's early history.
The old oak tree was loaded with apples after the rainy summer.
loaded with [fruit]
Amelia's suitcase was loaded with souvenirs from her trip to Japan.
- loaded with features
- loaded with sugar
- loaded with vitamins
- loaded with meaning
- packed with
similar, suggests density rather than just quantity
- full of
simpler and more common but less emphatic
- empty of
containing none of something
Grammar Patterns
be loaded with + noun
Usage Note
This sense is almost always used in the passive 'be loaded with', not the active 'load'. For the active sense of putting things in, see sense 1.
4. to take or serve a generous quantity of food onto a dish or into your stomach, o
to take or serve a generous quantity of food onto a dish or into your stomach, often with eagerness
The children loaded their plates with cake, cookies, and ice cream at the party.
load + plate + with + food
After the long hike, everyone loaded up on sandwiches and fresh fruit.
load up on + food
Quinn loaded her bowl with rice and vegetables from the buffet.
At the barbecue, Eitan loaded up his plate and went back for seconds.
load up one's plate
- load up on
- load one's plate
- loaded with toppings
- load up
Grammar Patterns
load + up + on/with + food
load + plate/tray + with + food
Usage Note
Informal and often used with 'up': 'load up on food'. The reflexive is common — 'load yourself' or 'load your plate'.
5. to put something such as film, bullets, or a disc into a camera, gun, or other d
to put something such as film, bullets, or a disc into a camera, gun, or other device so that it is ready for use
Kemi carefully loaded the film into the old camera before the wedding.
load film into a camera
The hunter loaded his rifle with fresh cartridges before entering the forest.
load + weapon + with + ammunition
Could you load the printer with more paper before the meeting starts?
Eliska loaded the CD into the player and pressed the start button.
load + disc + into + player
Mauricio loaded the stapler with a new strip of staples.
- load a gun
- load a camera
- load film
- load a printer
- load ammunition
- load a disc
Grammar Patterns
load + noun + into + noun
load + noun + with + noun
6. to transfer a software application, document, or set of information from a disk,
to transfer a software application, document, or set of information from a disk, server, or the web into a computer's active memory for use
It took several minutes to load the game onto the old laptop.
load + noun + onto + noun
You need to load the latest driver before the printer will work properly.
load a driver
Isabela loaded the spreadsheet from her flash drive and started editing.
load from a storage device
The technician showed us how to load the software from the company server.
Caleb loaded the photo editing application and began to work on the images.
- load a program
- load a file
- load software
- load data
- load a page
- load from disk
- unload
remove from memory, or close
Grammar Patterns
load + noun + into/onto + noun
load + noun + from + noun
Usage Note
In modern usage, 'load' often overlaps with 'install' and 'download'. 'Load' specifically refers to making data available in active memory, while 'install' sets it up permanently.
Common Mistakes
7. for a web page, application, or digital content to appear on a screen after bein
for a web page, application, or digital content to appear on a screen after being transferred into the device's memory
The website took a long time to load on my phone because the signal was weak.
intransitive: page loads
When you click the link, a new page will load automatically in your browser.
The app loads quickly on newer devices but feels slow on older ones.
loads quickly / loads slowly
Some images on the page did not load because of a network error.
intransitive negative
Reema waited for the video to load before pressing the play button.
- page loads
- load time
- load speed
- load failure
- takes long to load
- crash
when a page or app fails to load or stops working
Grammar Patterns
noun + loads
be loaded
Usage Note
The intransitive form ('The page loads') is very common. The transitive form ('The system loads the page') is more technical. 'Load time' is a common compound noun.
Common Mistakes
8. to create a situation in the sport of baseball where a team has a player standin
to create a situation in the sport of baseball where a team has a player standing safely on each of the three base positions simultaneously
The batter hit a clean single to centre field and loaded the bases.
load the bases
With the bases loaded and two outs, the pitcher felt enormous pressure.
with the bases loaded
The catcher loaded the bases by walking three batters in a row.
Fans jumped to their feet when the bases were loaded in the final inning.
passive: bases were loaded
- load the bases
- bases loaded
- with the bases loaded
Grammar Patterns
load the bases
bases are loaded
Usage Note
Almost always used in the passive 'the bases are loaded' or the active phrase 'load the bases'. Not used outside baseball contexts.
load up
phrasal verbto put a large amount of something into a vehicle, container, or onto a surface, especially to prepare for travel or transport
We loaded up the car with camping equipment and drove to the lake.
The shoppers loaded up their trolleys with food for the holiday feast.
load down
phrasal verbto put a very heavy weight or too many things on someone or something, making movement difficult
The hikers were loaded down with backpacks full of supplies.
Aoi felt loaded down with all the paperwork from the office.
load onto / load into
phrasal verbto put goods or people into or onto a vehicle, container, or device for transport or storage
The furniture was loaded onto the moving van in under an hour.
All the data was loaded into the new system before the deadline.
loaded for bear
idiomto be fully prepared, equipped, and ready to face a difficult situation or opponent
The team arrived at the competition loaded for bear after months of training.
The lawyer came to the hearing loaded for bear, with documents and witnesses ready.
load — suffix
1. used with a container or vehicle word to show the amount that fills it, especial
used with a container or vehicle word to show the amount that fills it, especially the number of people or the quantity of goods it can carry
A busload of school children arrived at the museum for a guided tour.
busload of
The restaurant ordered a truckload of fresh vegetables from the market.
truckload of
A shipload of electronic goods arrived at the port this morning.
shipload of
The charity received a carload of donated clothes from the neighbourhood.
Plane loads of relief supplies were flown to the flood victims.
- busload of tourists
- truckload of goods
- shipload of cargo
- carload of people
Grammar Patterns
[container/vehicle] + load
Usage Note
Common compounds: busload, truckload, shipload, carload, planeload, trainload, wagonload. Often used figuratively: 'a truckload of paperwork'.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All four words refer to something that is carried, but they differ in scope and context. 'Load' is the most general term — it can refer to anything carried by a person, animal, vehicle, or structure, and it also extends to abstract senses (workload, emotional burden). 'Weight' focuses on the heaviness of an object, measured in kilograms or pounds, and is used both physically ('the weight of the box') and abstractly ('the weight of responsibility'). 'Cargo' is restricted to goods transported by ship, aircraft, or large vehicle — never by a person or animal. 'Freight' is commercial goods transported in bulk, usually by train, truck, or ship, and implies payment for transport. A delivery driver picks up a 'load' from the warehouse, the ship carries 'cargo' across the ocean, the train transports 'freight' between cities, and you check the 'weight' of your suitcase at the airport.
Common collocations
Nouns
- load limit
- load capacity
- load time
- load factor
- load shedding
Adverbs
- heavily loaded
- fully loaded
- lightly loaded
- badly loaded
Phrases
Prepositions
- load of
- load onto
- load into
- load with
- load on
Etymology
The word 'load' comes from Old English 'lād', which originally meant 'a way, a course, a journey'. This meaning survives in the related word 'lode' (a vein of ore, literally a 'course' of metal in rock). In Middle English, the sense shifted from 'a journey' to 'that which is carried on a journey', appearing around the 1200s. The verb form developed naturally from the noun. The computing sense for transferring data into memory emerged in the mid-20th century with the rise of digital computers.