load

noun

/ləʊd/

Idioms

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something carried

[countable] something that is being carried (usually in large amounts) by a person, vehicle, etc.

The trucks waited at the warehouse to pick up their loads.
load of something The women came down the hill with their loads of firewood.
These backpacks are designed to carry a heavy load.
A lorry shed its load (= accidentally dropped its load) on the motorway.
(figurative) The company's debt load could drag it into bankruptcy.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

heavy
light
full
…

verb + load

bear
carry
shoulder
…

preposition

under its, etc. load

See full entry

[countable] (often in compounds) the total amount of something that something can carry or contain

a busload of tourists
They ordered three truckloads of sand.
He put half a load of washing in the machine.
The plane took off with a full load.
Maximum load, including passengers, is 800 pounds.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

heavy
light
full
…

verb + load

bear
carry
shoulder
…

preposition

under its, etc. load

See full entry

weight

[countable, usually singular] the amount of weight that is pressing down on something

a load-bearing wall
Modern backpacks spread the load over a wider area.
The table creaked under its heavy load.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

heavy
light
full
…

verb + load

bear
carry
shoulder
…

preposition

under its, etc. load

See full entry

large amount

[singular]

(also loads [plural])

(informal) a large number or amount of people or things; plenty

a load/loads of somebody/something She's got loads of friends.
He wrote loads and loads of letters to people.
Uncle Jim brought a whole load of presents for the kids.
We saw a load of houses before we bought this one.
They all had loads of fun at the park.
In my job I get the chance to meet loads of different people.
a load/loads to do There's loads to do today.

rubbish/nonsense

[singular] load of rubbish, garbage, nonsense, etc. (especially British English, informal) used to emphasize that something is wrong, stupid, bad, etc.

You're talking a load of rubbish.

work

[countable] an amount of work that a person or machine has to do

Teaching loads have increased in all types of school.
Extra warmth from sunlight can put an additional load on the air-conditioning system.
We're trying to spread the load by employing more staff.

responsibility/worry

[countable, usually singular] a feeling of responsibility or worry that is difficult to deal with synonym burden

She thought she would not be able to bear the load of bringing up her family alone.
Knowing that they had arrived safely took a load off my mind.
Many companies are burdened by high debt loads.

electrical power

[countable] the amount of electrical power that is being supplied at a particular time

Word OriginOld English lād ‘way, journey, conveyance’, of Germanic origin: related to German Leite, also to lead; compare with lode. The verb dates from the late 15th cent.

Idioms

get a load of somebody/something

(informal) used to tell somebody to look at or listen to somebody/something
- Get a load of that dress!

load

verb

/ləʊd/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they load	/ləʊd/ /ləʊd/
he / she / it loads	/ləʊdz/ /ləʊdz/
past simple loaded	/ˈləʊdɪd/ /ˈləʊdɪd/
past participle loaded	/ˈləʊdɪd/ /ˈləʊdɪd/
-ing form loading	/ˈləʊdɪŋ/ /ˈləʊdɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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give/receive load

[transitive, intransitive] to put a large quantity of things or people onto or into something

load something We loaded the car in ten minutes.
Can you help me load the dishwasher?
load something up They loaded up the lorry.
load something up with something Men were loading up a truck with timber.
load something with something Lastly came six wagons loaded with coal.
load something/somebody onto something Sacks were being loaded onto the truck.
load something/somebody into something The paramedics loaded Jason into the ambulance.
We finished loading and set off.
load up We got back to the car and began loading up.

opposite unload see also front-load

[intransitive] to receive a load

The ship was still loading.

opposite unload

[transitive] load somebody with something to give somebody a lot of things, especially things they have to carry

They loaded her with gifts.

gun/camera

[transitive, intransitive] to put something into a weapon, camera or other piece of equipment so that it can be used

load something (into something) She loaded a new cartridge into the printer.
load something (with something) She loaded the printer with a new cartridge.
load (something) Is the gun loaded?

opposite unload

computing

[transitive, intransitive] load (something) to put data or a program into the memory of a computer, usually from local disk storage

The program automatically loads the file.
This page won't load on my laptop.

compare downloadTopics Computersc1

Word OriginOld English lād ‘way, journey, conveyance’, of Germanic origin: related to German Leite, also to lead; compare with lode. The verb dates from the late 15th cent.

Idioms

load the dice (against/in favour of somebody)

to put somebody at an unfair disadvantage/advantage
- He has always felt that the dice were loaded against him in life.
- This is another attempt to load the dice in favour of employers.