load (ləʊd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) |
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| —n |
| 1. | something to be borne or conveyed; weight |
| 2. | a. the usual amount borne or conveyed |
| | b. (in combination): a carload |
| 3. | something that weighs down, oppresses, or burdens: that's a load off my mind |
| 4. | a single charge of a firearm |
| 5. | dead load See also live load the weight that is carried by a structure |
| 6. | electrical engineering, electronics |
| | a. a device that receives or dissipates the power from an amplifier, oscillator, generator, or some other source of signals |
| | b. the power delivered by a machine, generator, circuit, etc |
| 7. | the force acting on a component in a mechanism or structure |
| 8. | the resistance overcome by an engine or motor when it is driving a machine, etc |
| 9. | an external force applied to a component or mechanism |
| 10. | informal a load of a quantity of: a load of nonsense |
| 11. | informal get a load of pay attention to |
| 12. | slang (US), (Canadian) have a load on to be intoxicated |
| 13. | slang shoot one's load (of a man) to ejaculate at orgasm |
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| —vb |
| 14. | (also intr) to place or receive (cargo, goods, etc) upon (a ship, lorry, etc) |
| 15. | to burden or oppress |
| 16. | to supply or beset (someone) with in abundance or overwhelmingly: they loaded her with gifts |
| 17. | to cause to be biased: to load a question |
| 18. | (also intr) to put an ammunition charge into (a firearm) |
| 19. | photog to position (a film, cartridge, or plate) in (a camera) |
| 20. | to weight or bias (a roulette wheel, dice, etc) |
| 21. | insurance to increase (a premium) to cover expenses, etc |
| 22. | to draw power from (an electrical device, such as a generator) |
| 23. | to add material of high atomic number to (concrete) to increase its effectiveness as a radiation shield |
| 24. | to increase the power output of (an electric circuit) |
| 25. | to increase the work required from (an engine or motor) |
| 26. | to apply force to (a mechanism or component) |
| 27. | computing to transfer (a program) to a memory |
| 28. | load the dice |
| | a. to add weights to dice in order to bias them |
| | b. to arrange to have a favourable or unfavourable position |
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| [Old English lād course; in meaning, influenced by lade1; related to lead1] |