lade

verb \ ˈlād \

Updated on: 4 Apr 2018

Definition of lade

laded; laded or laden play \ˈlā-dᵊn\; lading

transitive verb

1 a : to put a load or burden on or in : load

b : to put or place as a load especially for shipment : ship

c : to load heavily or oppressively

2 : dip, ladle

intransitive verb

1 : to take on cargo : load

a place for ships to lade

2 : to take up or convey a liquid by dipping

See lade defined for kids

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Examples of lade in a Sentence

the cook laded the stew into small bowls
the trucks were heavily laden with produce for the market

Recent Examples of lade from the Web

Willemstad became a lucrative center of the Atlantic slave trade, a stopping point for ships laden with slaves destined for the Caribbean and South America.

— kevin baxter, latimes.com, "Curacao an island unto itself when it comes to producing big-league ballplayers," 26 Mar. 2018
Then the storm unleashed flash floods laden with giant boulders that blasted through town in the middle of the night, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes.

— CBS News, "Mudslides feared as strong Pacific storm heads toward weary Southern California," 21 Mar. 2018
Talk about a few days laden with all sorts of Insta-worthy moments!!!

— tess koman, Cosmopolitan, "Hey Look, Kylie Jenner Sure Had a Sexy Selfie-Filled Weekend," 12 Mar. 2018
The original track, produced entirely in-house by NBC Entertainment Marketing, is a send-up of sentimental Bowl memes -- from puppies to porches laden with apple pies, motorcycles and Americana.

— paula parisi, Billboard, "Inside NBC's Super Fun, Music-Packed Ad Strategy for 'The Voice' & Olympics," 7 Feb. 2018
The escape plot suspects were arrested in mid-February after police allegedly spotted a vehicle laden with explosives and weapons hidden in a thicket in the county of Isiolo.

— Fox News, "Police given OK to hold suspects in Nairobi courthouse plot," 16 Mar. 2018
The tradition of creating altars, laden with seafood, breads, pastries and citrus to honor San Giuseppe, or St. Joseph, the father of Jesus, began in Sicily in the Middle Ages.

— ann maloney, NOLA.com, "Where to find St. Joseph Day altars this weekend and March 19," 15 Mar. 2018
Tables on the tarmac were laden with weapons and gear of that era, from radios to M-16s and even an RPG launcher tube.

— rye druzin, San Antonio Express-News, "Vietnam remembered," 17 Feb. 2018
The 29-year-old Olympic bronze medal winner's youthful face blends in with local high school football stars and a handful of female powerlifters hoisting bars laden with hundreds of pounds above their heads.

— jaimy jones, Houston Chronicle, "Friendswood Olympic weightlifter finds her sport 'empowering'," 8 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Most of us know lade in its past participle form laden, as shown in our examples. Likely also familiar is the adjective laden, best distinguished from the verb by its placement before nouns, as in "laden ships" or "a laden heart." (The adjective is also at work in hyphenated terms like "sugar-laden.") Lade has been in use for more than a millennium and formerly had a nominal counterpart: the noun lade meaning "load" or "cargo" dates from around the same time but hasn't been in use since the early 16th century. A few short decades after it faded from active use, the noun lading took on the same meaning. Lading is still in use and appears most often in "bill of lading"-a term referring to a document that lists goods being shipped and specifies the terms of their transport.

Origin and Etymology of lade

Middle English, from Old English hladan; akin to Old High German hladan to load, Old Church Slavonic klasti to place

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

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lade

Definition of lade

lade was our Word of the Day on 11/04/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of lade in a Sentence

Recent Examples of lade from the Web

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Origin and Etymology of lade

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lade was our Word of the Day on 11/04/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of lade in a Sentence

Recent Examples of lade from the Web

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of lade

lade Synonyms

Synonyms

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Near Antonyms

Related Words

Learn More about lade

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