UNLOADING Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

unloading

verb

present participle of unload

as in discharging

to empty or rid of cargo the dockworkers unloaded the ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dumping

to get rid of as useless or unwanted I can't seem to unload this old car—even the charities won't take it!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unloading The soccer coach was unloading balls from his vehicle in the alley behind his home when Wilson, wearing a mask, confronted him with a semiautomatic handgun that had a laser pointer. — Julie Hanson, CBS News, 13 July 2026 Their jobs involve unloading raw sugar arriving by ship at the C&H Sugar facility in Crockett. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 9 July 2026 Cleveland has one or two roster moves to make to be able to pay James $15 million next season instead — unloading Max Strus and Dennis Schröder — but hasn’t done either yet. — Tony Jones, New York Times, 7 July 2026 This picture taken on March 26, 2026 shows an oil tanker unloading crude oil at a port in Yantai, in China's eastern Shandong province. — Justina Lee, CNBC, 6 July 2026 Crews have been seen unloading equipment from trucks this week — much of it covered or obscured — and barricades have been placed near the perimeter of the arena. — Meriam Bouarrouj, NBC news, 4 July 2026 The streets have been shut down around the venue, with trucks unloading equipment for the most anticipated wedding in recent memory. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 3 July 2026 Frenzied speculation around the wedding has built for weeks, intensifying in recent days as crews have been seen unloading equipment from trucks, including a large carpet. — Jake Offenhartz, Fortune, 2 July 2026 Additionally, on Monday, June 29, Page Six and TMZ reported that multiple trucks were seen unloading equipment at Madison Square Garden. — Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 2 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unloading

Verb

Lithium batteries in general are capable of discharging a greater percentage of their full capacity without any negative effects, commonly offering usable capacities of 80% or more.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 July 2026
Electric-vehicle owners and operators face concerns that repeated charging and discharging of a battery could accelerate battery degradation, and that use of V2G could void a battery warranty.

— Lisa Baertlein, USA Today, 6 July 2026

Definition of discharging

Verb

Part of the issue was Disney’s decision to release the show, which had been completed since around 2024, all at once, dumping 22 episodes onto the platform with limited prior advertising.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
Flash flooding continues across South Central Texas as thunderstorms train over the same areas, dumping up to a foot of rain and triggering water rescues and road closures.

— Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 15 July 2026

Definition of dumping

Verb

Tijssen then led guests on a walkthrough of the installations, unpacking how artificial intelligence, sound design and generative visuals work together to keep the show’s audiovisual landscape in constant flux.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 July 2026
There are also many active travelers who relish packing and unpacking just once.

— Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of unpacking

Verb

Michigan public health officials have advised buying heads of lettuce rather than bagged salad mixes and discarding the outer two or three layers of leaves before washing the lettuce.

— Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 14 July 2026
The affidavit alleges Roper tampered with physical evidence by discarding Erving's clothing and deleting communications with Erving from his cellphone.

— Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 13 July 2026

Definition of discarding

Verb

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been recovering their rockets since 2015, saving vast amounts of money by recycling them rather than ditching them after liftoff.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
This season, The Invite actress is ditching sandals for the polished, rich-looking penny loafers she’s been sporting on repeat.

— Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 7 July 2026

Definition of ditching

Verb

Following quickly on the heels of spinning off Versant Media earlier this year, Comcast is now off-loading the entirety of NBCUniversal.

— Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Off-loading tasks such as writing code might result in cognitive atrophy over the long term, and that is problematic in itself, but off-loading ethical decisions will result in an atrophy of moral reasoning, which is worse.

— Ted Chiang, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026

Definition of off-loading

Browse Nearby Words

unloaded

unloading

unloads

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Unloading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unloading. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of unloading

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on unloading

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

quid pro quo

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes