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

• cargo
• load
• loading
• burden

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

More than 40 scientific payloads will take flight on NS-35, bringing the total number of payloads lofted by New Shepard to date over 200, according to the company. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Generate APIs, payload schemas and test fixtures from the catalog source of truth to reduce drift and manual errors. —Ranganath Taware, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

The Falcon 9 can loft heavier payloads than the old version of the Antares rocket, allowing NASA to take full advantage of the additional volume on the Cygnus XL. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025

Liquid-fuel challenges and advances Liquid-fuel ICBMs are known for their heavy payloads and extended range but are traditionally difficult to maintain in a constant state of readiness. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for payload

• abode
• anode
• barcode
• bestowed
• boatload
• borrowed
• carload
• caseload
• cathode
• commode
• corrode
• crossroad

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