Burden

/ˈbɜːdn̩/ · noun

Meaning

A heavy load..

Definitions by Sense

1. A heavy load.
2. A responsibility, onus.
3. A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
4. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry.
5. (mining) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
6. (metalworking) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
7. A fixed quantity of certain commodities.
8. (obsolete, rare) A birth.

Example Sentences

I know that this was Life,—the track ⁠Whereon with equal feet we fared; ⁠And then, as now, the day prepared The daily burden for the back.

There were four or five men in the vault already, and I could hear more coming down the passage, and guessed from their heavy footsteps that they were carrying burdens.

c. 1710-1730, Jonathan Swift, The Dean's Complaint Translated and Answered Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone, / To all my friends a burden grown.

a ship of a hundred tons burden

"[…] The quay is upwards of 1,000 feet in length, and capable of accommodating more than 100 sail of traders; and there are generally a considerable number of vessels of from 40 to 300 tons burden, from various parts of the world, waiting to receive their cargoes."

A burden of gad steel is 120 pounds.

… that bore thee at a burden two fair sons.

to burden a nation with taxes

Synonyms for burden

Antonyms for burden

Related Words

Word Forms

• burdens
• burthen
• burdening
• burdened

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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