1
as in discharging
to empty or rid of cargo
the dockworkers unloaded the ship
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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!
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unloading
At this moment, on this Saturday morning, crew members representing nearly every team focused their attention on one specific team unloading one specific car.
—
Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Perry dropped Diaz with a knee in the closing seconds, unloading uppercuts, elbows and hooks as Diaz tried to bounce away from the fence.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Although Drake’s clear goal with this triple drop is unloading the clip, there’s a semblance to the sprawl.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 15 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 May 2026
Workers were apparently unloading sulfuric acid from a railcar at the site using compressed air, which firefighters described as a standard procedure.
—Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Nicole TungIndonesian fishermen unloading various species including sharks and wedgefish, which are one of the most threatened species, in Tegal, Indonesia, last June.
—Jay Ganglani, NBC news, 3 May 2026
While unloading his veterans at the trade deadline in February, Karnišovas dealt Dosunmu to Minnesota along with Julian Phillips for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Perry dropped Diaz with a knee in the closing seconds, unloading uppercuts, elbows and hooks as Diaz tried to bounce away from the fence.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Although Drake’s clear goal with this triple drop is unloading the clip, there’s a semblance to the sprawl.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 15 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 May 2026
Workers were apparently unloading sulfuric acid from a railcar at the site using compressed air, which firefighters described as a standard procedure.
—Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Nicole TungIndonesian fishermen unloading various species including sharks and wedgefish, which are one of the most threatened species, in Tegal, Indonesia, last June.
—Jay Ganglani, NBC news, 3 May 2026
While unloading his veterans at the trade deadline in February, Karnišovas dealt Dosunmu to Minnesota along with Julian Phillips for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unloading
Verb
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Federal prosecutors later charged Russell with depriving Bils of his rights under color of law and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
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Allen was also charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
23 May 2026
Verb
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As the plane taxied down the runway, the toilet started dumping out brown sewage water, Bharucha said.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
1 June 2026
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There’s also a second 25-meter pool, while the children’s pool features a splash pad and elaborate play structure topped by a giant blue bucket dumping water periodically.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Jennifer Garner is unpacking the 'upheaval' in family life that came from her 2015 split from ex-husband Ben Affleck.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
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Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
1 June 2026
Verb
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His experience across retail and institutional pharmacy environments informs a view grounded in workflow mechanics, data pipelines, and system reliability, discarding broad claims about automation for focused analysis.—
Ethan Stone
June 3,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2026
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This plan included a prohibition on shark finning -- the process of removing shark fins at sea and discarding the rest of the shark -- and grouping sharks into different complexes to simplify the management of dozens of species.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Verb
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First responders quickly went to work evacuating residents and knocking down the flames.—
Elijah Westbrook,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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In March, Warren led the Massachusetts delegation in a letter to the State Department criticizing the administration’s lack of preparation in terms of evacuating Americans and pressing for answers on its response.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The team will take on Gucci's color scheme — red, green, black and gold — while ditching the Alpine brand's blue and BWT's pink.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
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In one instance, Guo flew across the country to help keep one of Baseten’s customers from ditching them for a rival.—
Rashi Shrivastava,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, the public has become critical of the war as gas prices continue to soar and Republicans face losing control of the House in the upcoming November Congressional elections.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
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But losing on penalties will still make this moment one of the worst in their career.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Anthropic has raised concerns over students off-loading cognitive work to AI systems, and OpenAI has acknowledged that dependence on AI tools more generally is a problem.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
1 Dec. 2025
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The canister was still wedged in my crotch, off-loading its contents like a homemade Roman candle.—
Charlie Sheen,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Unloading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unloading. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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