burden

Meaning

Noun

1. A heavy load.
2. A responsibility, onus.
3. A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
4. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry.
5. The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
6. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
7. A fixed quantity of certain commodities.
8. (obsolete) A birth.
9. The total amount of toxins, parasites, cancer cells, plaque or similar present in an organism.
10. The distance between rows of blastholes parallel to the major free face (i.e. face of the excavation)

Verb

1. To encumber with a literal or figurative burden.
2. To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable).

Synonyms

load

weight

charge

encumbrance

onus

trouble

responsibility

tax

encumber

difficulty

pack

freight

cargo

obligation

saddle

refrain

core

weigh down

burthen

annoyance

duty

impediment

foundation

baggage

gist

overload

fardel

bother

heavy responsibility

basis

loading

pressure

overhead cost

hindrance

task

heavy load

topic

parasite

effect

incumbrance

shipment

weight down

strain

carry

chorus

hanger-on

impose upon

essence

fill

overweight

lade

laden

lading

lap

leitmotif

leitmotiv

liability

load down

loaded

loading capacity

load up

luggage

🧳

marrow

mass

millstone

mix

mixture

need

nitty-gritty

nucleus

nuisance

obstruct

oppress

oppression

order

overburden

overheads

packsaddle

pest

pester

pillory

pith

point

preoccupation

press

problem

push

quiddity

retard

stock

subject matter

substance

support

tag

taxes

tenor

theme

tie

train

🚋

travail

trial

upload

vexation

vice

weighted

worry

cause pain to

hinderance

great trouble

stress

taxation

be burdensome

leit-motif

leit-motiv

be loaded with

important affair

oncost

charge ratio

fabricating cost

charge material

batch feeder

ratio of mixture

burden sheet

charge mixture

charging material

furnace charge

rest heavily on

manufacturing burden

make-up of charge

feed proportioning

mixture making ingredient

make up the charge

carry on shoulder

heavy load⫷mn⫸

afflict

annoy

assignment

batching

blending

brunt

bundle

burdening

business

capacity

care

cause trouble

commission

compulsion

concern

continuity

cost of production

crux

cumber

deadwood

demand

dependence

dependent

deter

dosage

dosing

drag

flap

freightage

furnish

gauge

grass roots

handicap

hardship

haunt

heart and soul

heaviness

heft

hinder

hold

impede

impose

imposition

inconvenience

ingredient

jag

job

kernel

kindness

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɜːdn̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: burden

Inherited from Old English: byrden

Inherited from Middle English: burdoun

In summary

From Middle English burden, birden, burthen, birthen, byrthen, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”).