payload

noun

pay·​load ˈpā-ˌlōd 

plural payloads

1

: the load carried by a vehicle exclusive of what is necessary for its operation

especially : the load carried by an aircraft or spacecraft consisting of people or things (such as passengers or instruments) necessary to the purpose of the flight

NASA's first post-Challenger launching is tentatively set for May 1. Its payload, the NOAA-G weather satellite, will be lofted by an expendable Scout rocket.

—J. Eberhart

Their objective was to size the airplane according to its intended payload.

—Clive Irving

2

: the weight of a payload

… the Bronco had a payload of 2000 pounds.

—Darryl Young

Maximum fuel load is 3,550 pounds, leaving a payload of just 360 pounds with full tanks.

—J. Mac McClellan

3

: the destructive component carried by a missile or bomb

… they did not fail to realize that a missile powerful enough to put a satellite into orbit could also deliver a nuclear payload to Washington, D.C., or New York, or Chicago, or any major American city.

—Alex Wellerstein

also : something likened to such a payload

American computer security experts were first to spot another worm whose virus payload was contained within an e-mail that masqueraded as a virus alert from Symantec.

—Pacific Business News

Thus, a potential pitfall for using adenoviruses as a vaccine delivery system is that a person's immune system may end up responding more to the adenovirus itself than the vaccine's genetic payload …

—Beth Mole

Synonyms

• burden
• cargo
• draft
• freight
• haul
• lading
• load
• loading
• weight

Examples of payload in a Sentence

The truck is carrying a payload of 2,580 pounds.

the space shuttle can carry a maximum payload of approximately 50,000 pounds

Recent Examples on the Web

After the Vampire dropped its payload, intercepts on the frequencies revealed that the Russians in the cellar had survived both the grenades and the mines, and that their unit was sending reinforcements. —Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Future versions of Talon-A vehicles will be rocket-powered and capable of carrying customizable payloads at hypersonic speeds. —Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 11 Mar. 2024

Among the probe’s payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to survive in even the harshest climates. —Laurent Palka, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024

Odysseus was partially funded by NASA's Commercial Lunar Services Payloads program, designed to encourage private industry to develop transportation capabilities that the agency can then use to transport payloads to the moon. —William Harwood, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024

Odysseus also transported six commercial payloads to the lunar surface, showcasing a diverse array of experiments from renowned brands, artists and institutions. —Cathy Hackl, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

The mission is being carried out under a $118 million contract with NASA, which is paying the company to deliver six scientific and technological payloads to the moon. —Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024

Packed on board the lunar lander are six NASA science and technology payloads. —Jackie Wattles, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024

To that end, Intuitive Machines offered to carry payloads for profit. —IEEE Spectrum, 15 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

payload

noun

pay·​load ˈpā-ˌlōd 

: something (as cargo, passengers, instruments, or explosives) carried by a vehicle in addition to what is necessary for its operation