workload

noun

work·​load ˈwərk-ˌlōd 

1

: the amount of work or of working time expected or assigned

students with a heavy workload

2

: the amount of work performed or capable of being performed (as by a mechanical device) usually within a specific period

Examples of workload in a Sentence

Students complained about the heavy workload.

Recent Examples on the Web

Among the measures the Dodgers have taken to monitor Ohtani, the pitcher, and his workload: While he’s built up to five innings, he isn’t expected to go any further than that, at least for the remainder of the regular season. —Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025

Hassan Naveed, who served as a special investigator and a director of outreach for OIG between 2015 and 2019, said that, even then, the office was inundated by its workload. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025

Her perspective underscores both the opportunity and the caution: agentic AI can shoulder much of the workload, but human oversight remains non-negotiable. —Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025

Vendors tout these devices for their ability to run AI workloads more efficiently than if data was sent to the cloud or a mainframe server. —John Kell, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for workload

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

Kids Definition

workload

noun

work·​load ˈwərk-ˌlōd 

1

: the amount of work or of working time expected or assigned

students with a heavy workload

2

: the amount of work performed or capable of being performed usually within a specific period

a machine's workload