load
part of speech
noun (a load, loads); verb (load, loads, loaded, loading)
meaning for a pupil
1) A load is something heavy that is carried, for example by a truck, a person or a washing machine. tree →
2) To load means to put things into or onto a car, ship, machine or bag. tree →
3) A load or loads (informal) means a lot: loads of friends. tree →
4) To load a computer program or page means to make it open and appear. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and engineering, the load is the weight a structure, beam or lever must hold up; in lever lessons it is the weight you lift. In maths, «each truck carries a load of 3 tonnes» is a rate per truck. At home: load the dishwasher, a load of washing. Safety: do not overload a bag, plug or boat. Phrases: a load of, loads of, load up, overload, workload.
examples
- The truck carries a heavy load of sand. tree →
- Help me load the car for the holiday. tree →
- I have loads of homework tonight. tree →
- Put a load of washing in the machine. tree →
- The page is taking ages to load. tree →
- The bridge can hold a load of 20 tonnes. tree →
- A lever helps you lift a heavy load with less effort. tree →
- The camel carried a load on its back. tree →
note
«Loads of» is informal; in school writing use «a lot of» or «many». Load (carry) sounds like «lode» (a line of metal ore). Maths: total load = number of loads x size of each load: 4 loads of 25 kg = 100 kg.
In the corpora
- If the wrong things go in a recycling bin, a whole load can be spoiled.
- "A brick short of a load" (Australia) means stupid or a bit mad.
- "Two bricks shy of a load" means stupid or a bit mad; it is American and humorous.
- Turn by moving your feet, not by twisting your back, and put the load down the same way, bending your knees.
- Holding a load close to your body makes it easier to carry and safer for your back.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «load» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.