unloading

verb

present participle of unload
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!

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 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 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. — ABC News, 2 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 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 There's the Battle of the Gullet in the premiere, and then everything that comes next — from Rhaenyra unloading her grief before the corpse of her eldest son to her taking the Iron Throne at King's Landing to become Westeros' new queen. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 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 The companies announced a commercial integration that connects Pickle Robot's trailer-unloading robots with Ambi Robotics' AmbiStack pallet-building system. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unloading
  1. discharging
  2. dumping
  3. unpacking
  4. discarding
  5. evacuating
  6. ditching
  7. off-loading
  8. losing
Verb
  • Supercapacitors are known for fast charging and discharging, as well as long operating lifetimes.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • Congress has had difficulty discharging its lawmaking duties.
    — Kevin R. Kosar, The Washington Examiner, 28 June 2026
Definition of discharging
Verb
  • Achiuwa had a good run at the end of the season as the Kings were dumping games left and right.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 1 July 2026
  • The leaks are dumping gallons upon gallons of wastewater into the Merrimack River.
    — Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 30 June 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
  • But the lawyer for suspect Iqbal Bacchus, 46, suggested Bacchus was selling wiring that the hospital was discarding.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 25 June 2026
  • The council also ordered up a measure doubling the amount of money allocated for the Department of Recreation and Parks, discarding an alternative plan that would have increased it by 50%.
    — Los Angeles City Hall, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
Definition of discarding
Verb
  • Ground robots are hauling ammunition, evacuating wounded troops, laying mines, and increasingly carrying weapons into combat as Ukraine tries to replace as many frontline tasks as possible with machines.
    — David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • More ships entered the Gulf over the weekend than departed, reversing a trend seen over the previous week, when efforts focused on evacuating seafarers stranded in the Gulf.
    — Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 29 June 2026
Definition of evacuating
Verb
  • 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
  • That meant ditching some of the traditional tools used in vehicle design, like the clay models used by car designers since the 1930s.
    — Andrew Staples, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Definition of ditching
Verb
  • 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
  • The canister was still wedged in my crotch, off-loading its contents like a homemade Roman candle.
    — Charlie Sheen, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of off-loading
Verb
  • Shortstop Francisco Lindor backed up and called off the converging outfielders before losing his footing and falling right in front of Tyrone Taylor, who tripped over Lindor while failing to make the catch.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026
  • Amid the inextricable trauma of losing her 18-year-old child, the mother had feared that traditional funeral customs might be handled differently because of the manner in which her daughter died.
    — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Definition of losing

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unloaded
unloading
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Cite this Entry

“Unloading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unloading. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on unloading

Nglish: Translation of unloading for Spanish Speakers

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