I. ˈlōd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lod, lood act of loading, load (influenced in meaning by laden to load), from Old English lād course, way, journey, carrying, support — more at lade , lode
1. : an item or collection of things, material, animals, or passengers carried:
a. : whatever is put on a man or pack animal to be carried : pack
the supply men hiked their loads up on their shoulders — Burgess Scott
b. : whatever is put in a ship or vehicle or airplane for conveyance : a collection of freight or passengers : cargo
one more stop before he finished delivering his load
specifically : a quantity of material assembled or packed as a shipping unit sometimes with a specified character or arrangement
each load of 50 disks is packaged in a … glass vial — Modern Packaging
a car with a transverse load
c.
(1) : the quantity that can be or customarily is carried at one time by an often specified means of conveyance
a dump truck with a full load of sand
specifically : a measured quantity of a commodity fixed for each type of carrier
a load of plain tiles is 1000 — Gregory's Handbook for Australian Builders
— often used in combination
a boat load of tourists
an arm load of bundles
arrived by the jeep load
(2) Midland : an armful especially of firewood
d. : the mineral matter transported by a stream as visible sediment or in solution
2.
a. : a mass or weight supported by something
a roof sagging under its load of snow
branches bent low by their load of fruit
b. : the forces to which a structure is subjected because of weights carried on the supports or the overturning moments to which a structure is subjected by wind pressure on the vertical surfaces
the external forces, or loads, to which a roof truss is subjected consist of the weights of materials of construction, snow, ice, and wind pressure together with the reactions developed at the supports as a result of these loads — F.E.Kidder & Harry Parker
the most accurate way of determining the full load on each tire is to weigh each axle of a fully loaded truck — Armstrong Tires Data Book
— see dead load , live load
c. : the amount of stress put on something
the load on a glued joint
this normal instinctive fear which adds its load to the burden of the nervous system — H.G.Armstrong
3. : something borne or conveyed in a manner suggesting a material load: as
a. : something that weighs down the mind or spirits
a load of care
took a great load off his mind
b. : a burdensome or laborious responsibility
carry his share of the load in a democratic society — Bulletin of Bates College
his heavy load of day-to-day work — New York Times
c. : the content of thought or feeling carried (as by a piece of writing)
a work which has acquired an enormous load of sentimental values — Hunter Mead
4. slang : an intoxicating amount of liquor drunk : a state of intoxication
he'd come in with a small load on, but he was never really high — Roderick Lull
5. : a large quantity : lot — usually used in plural
a singing comedienne with … loads of energy — New Yorker
6.
a. : a charge or cartridge for a firearm:
(1) : a charge of powder
(2) : a charge of shot in a shotshell
(3) : a fully loaded cartridge
b. : the quantity of material loaded into a device or machine at one time
a washer that takes a 10 pound load
put three loads through the dryer
7. : external resistance overcome by a machine or prime mover
at all loads less than full capacity, the turbine operates at better efficiency with individual nozzle control — B.G.A.Skrotzki & W.A.Vopat
8.
a. : power output (as of an engine, motor, power plant, or source of electric current) or power consumed (as by a device or circuit)
b. : a device or group of devices to which power is delivered
9. : something (as a railway freight car) that contains a load
a train of thirty empties and ten loads — Elton Brown
: one that is loaded
10.
a.
(1) : the amount of work that a person carries or is expected to carry
workers … willing to adapt to work loads set by time study methods — J.A.Morris b. 1918
counseling duties in addition to normal teaching loads — Bates Boyle
patient load of physicians in private practice
the case load of social workers
a regular student with an academic load of 12 semester hours
(2) : the amount of authorized work to be performed by a machine, a group, a department, or a factory
b. : the demand upon the operating resources of a system (as a telephone exchange, postal system, or railroad)
the load in a refrigeration system is the name applied to the quantity of heat that must be removed per unit of time — B.H.Jennings
: the number or quantity (as of persons, vehicles) accommodated (as by an institution, transportation system) at one time
the population load on the land — Russell Lord
care for the potential load of senile mental cases — Psychological Abstracts
traffic reaching its peak load during rush hours
11. slang : a full view : eyeful ; also : earful — used in the phrase get a load of
get a load of this new convertible — Bennett Cerf
12. : burden 10
the worm load in rats
13. : an amount added to the selling price of an article, service, or security to represent selling or delivery expense and profit of the distributor — called also loading
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English loden, from lod, lood, n.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put a load in or on (a means of conveyance) : to fill with material, animals, or passengers to be transported
had loaded the moving van by noon
load the plane with cargo
steamboats loaded down with goods and passengers — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : to place in or on a means of conveyance : pack or stow as a load
load the freight into the car
loads his family into the car for a ride
2.
a. : to encumber or oppress with something heavy, laborious or disheartening : weigh down : burden — often used with with
a railway president … would not load himself with departmental minutiae — W.J.Cunningham
a business that was loaded down with debts
load human life with frustration and grief — David Cort
b. : to place as a burden or obligation : saddle — often used with on
load more work on him
c. : gum IV vt 4
d. : to play a card (as in the game of hearts) that will increase the count against (an opponent who takes the trick)
3.
a. : to place or be a material weight or physical stress on
grapes load down the vines
load the springs to the limit
b. : to increase the weight of by adding something heavy
the stockwhip was … loaded with shot at the butt — H.L.Davis
c. : to add a conditioning substance especially a mineral salt to (something) for body or some other property: as
(1) : to add filler to (paper) : fill
(2) of textiles : weight 1c
silk which has been loaded with … metallic salts — Irish Digest
d. : to weight (dice) to fall unfairly
e. : to pack with one-sided or prejudicial influences or assumptions or numbers : give a determining slant or proportion to : bias
the system was heavily loaded in favor of royalty, aristocracy, and priesthood — A.L.Kroeber
the situation is a little loaded against the male of the species — John Gould
so loaded his questions that a witness had to answer as desired or appear unpatriotic
the jury comes in loaded to soak an anarchist — Maxwell Anderson
f. : to weight (as a test or experimental situation) with factors influencing validity or outcome
g. : to charge with emotional associations or significance
the sentiment that loads such words as mother
4.
a. : to supply in abundance or excess
a prewar custom of loading visitors with gadgets — DeWitt Morrill
an uncle … who, like all pawnbrokers, was loaded with trumpets — E.J.Kahn
their questions were loaded with insinuation — Jean Stafford
: heap
an enameled plate that was loaded high with potatoes — Liam O'Flaherty
: pack
clearly written and loaded with pictures and diagrams — Dun's Review
load up on them while the price is low
b.
(1) : to apply (as a pigment) heavily
the loaded streaks of orange and cinnabar — F.J.Mather
(2) : to color (a painting) thickly
(3) : to make (as a color) opaque by mixing in white
c. : to put runners on (first, second, and third bases) in baseball
the pitcher loaded the bases by walking three batters
d. : to fill (a person) with fanciful information
the pilot warmed to his opportunity, and proceeded to load me up in the good old-fashioned way — Mark Twain
5.
a. : to put a load in (a device or piece of equipment) : supply with the material to be used or processed
load his corncob pipe
load , unload, and reload the washer by hand
as
(1) : to place a charge or cartridge in (the chamber of a firearm) : assemble the components of (a cartridge)
(2) : to transfer (germinated grain) from the working floor to dry in a kiln
(3) : to insert photographic film in (as a holder or magazine) : place a holder or magazine in (as a camera or machine)
b. : to place or insert as a load in a device, machine, or container
load the cloth into a dye vat
6.
a. : to increase the resistance in the working of
load a windmill for a 15-mile wind — F.E.Kidder & Harry Parker
b.
(1) : to change (as by introducing a loading coil) the resonance frequency or wavelength of (a radio transmitter)
(2) : to introduce (loading coils) or distribute (induction) along an electrical conductor
(3) : to add a power-absorbing device (as a resistance or antenna) to (a telephone line) in order to reduce attenuation and distortion
(4) : to add (as a circuit element or antenna) to a circuit to absorb power
7. : to change (as an alcoholic drink) by adding an adulterant or drug
8.
a. : to add loading to (an insurance premium)
b. : to add a sum to (as the selling price of a book or security) after profits and expenses are accounted for
loaded prices
waiters can load checks more deftly than any of their colleagues on the European Continent — T.H.Fielding
intransitive verb
1. : to receive a load : take on cargo or passengers
trucks were loading with mail at the platform in back
stopped behind a school bus that was loading
2. : gum IV vi 2
3. : to put a load on or in a carrier, device, machine, or container ; specifically : to insert the charge or cartridge in the chamber of a firearm
4. : to go or go in as a load : make one's way as a passenger
the nurses were called … to load into the boat — Lonnie Coleman
: be suitable for loading a carrier, device, or machine
razor blades that load without handling
Synonyms: see burden
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- load the dice
III.
variant of lode
IV. noun
: genetic load herein
V. transitive verb
: to copy (as a program or data) especially from an external storage device (as a disk drive) into a computer's memory