I. load 1 S1 W3 /ləʊd $ loʊd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: lad 'support, carrying' ]
1 . AMOUNT OF SOMETHING a large quantity of something that is carried by a vehicle, person etc
load of
a load of wood
The lorry had shed its load (=the load had fallen off) .
The plane was carrying a full load of fuel.
2 . a load (of something) ( also loads (of something) British English ) informal a lot of something:
We got a load of complaints about the loud music.
Don’t worry, there’s loads of time
loads to do/see/eat etc
There’s loads to see in Paris.
3 . a bus load/car load/truck load etc the largest amount of something that a vehicle can carry:
a bus load of tourists
4 . a load of crap/bull etc ( also a load of rubbish British English ) spoken not polite used to say that something is bad, untrue, or stupid:
I thought the game was a load of crap.
5 . WORK the amount of work that a person or machine has to do:
The computer couldn’t handle the load and crashed.
a light/heavy load (=not much or a lot of work)
Hans has a heavy teaching load this semester.
My work load has doubled since Henry left.
They hired more staff in order to spread the load.
6 . WORRY a problem or worry that is difficult to deal with:
When someone is depressed, the extra load of having financial problems can make the situation worse.
Knowing he was safe was a load off my mind (=I felt less worried) .
Coping with ill health was a heavy load to bear.
7 . WASHING a quantity of clothes that are washed together in a washing machine:
I’ve already done three loads of laundry this morning.
8 . get a load of somebody/something spoken used to tell someone to look at or listen to something that is surprising or funny:
Get a load of this! Your stars say you are going to meet someone who’s rich.
9 . WEIGHT the amount of weight that something is supporting:
a load-bearing wall
It increased the load on the wheels.
10 . ELECTRICITY technical an amount of electrical power that is being produced
II. load 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [intransitive and transitive] ( also load up ) to put a large quantity of something into a vehicle or container OPP unload :
Have you finished loading up?
It took an hour to load the van.
Will you help me load the dishwasher?
load something into/onto something
Emma loaded all the groceries into the car.
He loaded the cups onto a tray.
load something with something
She loaded up the car with camping gear.
2 . [transitive] to put a necessary part into something in order to make it work, for example bullets into a gun or film into a camera
load something with something
Did you load it with 200 or 400 film?
load something into something
Can you load the CD into the player, please?
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to put a program into a computer:
The program takes a while to load.
To load the file, press the ‘return’ key.
4 . [intransitive] ( also load up ) if a ship, aircraft etc loads, goods are put onto it:
The first ship to load at the new port was the ‘Secil Angola’.
load with
The boat called at Lerwick to load up with fresh vegetables.
load somebody/something down phrasal verb
1 . [usually passive] to give someone more work or problems than they can deal with SYN weigh down
be/feel loaded down with something
Jane felt loaded down with money worries.
2 . to make someone carry too many things SYN weigh down
be loaded down with something
I was loaded down with bags so I took a taxi.
load up on something phrasal verb American English
to get a lot of something so that you are sure you will have enough SYN stock up (on) :
People were loading up on bottled water.
load somebody (up) with something phrasal verb
to give someone a lot of things, especially things they have to carry