[load] n [ME lod, fr. OE lad support, carrying--more at lode] (12c) 1 a: the quantity that can be carried at one time by a specified means; esp: a measured quantity of a commodity fixed for each type of carrier--often used in combination "a boatload of tourists" b: whatever is put on a person or pack animal to be carried: pack c: whatever is put in a ship or vehicle or airplane for conveyance: cargo; esp: a quantity of material assembled or packed as a shipping unit
2. a: a mass or weight supported by something "branches bent low by their ~ of fruit" b: the forces to which a structure is subjected due to superposed weight or to wind pressure on the vertical surfaces; broadly: the forces to which a given object is subjected 3 a: something that weighs down the mind or spirits "took a ~ off her mind" b: a burdensome or laborious responsibility "always carried his share of the ~"
4. slang: an intoxicating amount of liquor drunk
5: a large quantity: lot--usu. used in pl.
6. a: a charge for a firearm b: the quantity of material loaded into a device at one time 7: external resistance overcome by a machine or prime mover
8. a: power output (as of a power plant) or power consumption (as by a device) b: a device to which power is delivered
9. a (1): the amount of work that a person carries or is expected to carry (2): the amount of authorized work to be performed by a machine, a group, a department, or a factory b: the demand on the operating resources of a system (as a telephone exchange or a refrigerating apparatus)
10. slang: eyeful--used in the phrase get a load of 11: an amount added (as to the price of a security or the net premium in insurance) to represent selling expense and profit to the distributor 12: the decrease in capacity for survival of the average individual in a population due to the presence of deleterious genes in the gene pool "the mutational ~ is the genetic ~ caused by mutation"
[2]load vt (15c) 1 a: to put a load in or on "~ a truck" b: to place in or on a means of conveyance "~ freight"
2. a: to encumber or oppress with something heavy, laborious, or disheartening: burden "a company ~ed down with debts" b: to place as a burden or obligation "~ more work on him" 3 a: to increase the weight of by adding something heavy b: to add a conditioning substance (as a mineral salt) to for body c: to weight or shape (dice) to fall unfairly d: to pack with one-sided or prejudicial influences: bias e: to charge with multiple meanings (as emotional associations or hidden implications) f: to weight (as a test) with factors influencing validity or outcome
4. a: to supply in abundance or excess: heap, pack b: to put runners on (first, second, and third bases) in baseball
5. a: to put a load or charge in (a device or piece of equipment) "~ a gun" b: to place or insert esp. as a load in a device or piece of equipment "~ film in a camera" "~ a program into a computer"
6: to alter (as an alcoholic drink) by adding an adulterant or drug
7. a: to add a load to (an insurance premium) b: to add a sum to after profits and expenses are accounted for "~ed prices" ~ vi 1: to receive a load
2: to put a load on or in a carrier, device, or container; esp: to insert the charge or cartridge in the chamber of a firearm
3: to go or go in as a load "sightseers ~ing onto a bus" -- load.er n