Main Entry: ¹load

Pronunciation: \ˈlōd\

Function: noun

1 a : a mass or weight put on something b : the amount of stress put on something <this normal instinctive fear which adds its load to the nervous system—H. G. Armstrong> c : an amount of something (as food or water) added to the body or available for use in some physiological process <the cell's response to an increased metabolic load—Emergency Medicine>
2 : the number or quantity (as of patients) to be accommodated or treated <the patient load of physicians in private practice—Journal of the American Medical Association>
3 : the amount of a deleterious microorganism, parasite, growth, or substance present in a human or animal body <measure viral load in the blood> <the worm load in rats>—called also burden
4 : genetic load