The demand on an energy producing system; the energy consumption or requirement of a piece or group of equipment.

Usually expressed in terms of amperes or watts in reference to electricity.

1. Anything that is lifted and carried: Courtney lifted the load of books that was in the box and carried them to the library.

Sharon was carrying a heavy load of legal documents in her briefcase.

2. The amount of something that can be carried at one time: Emmet picked up a load of bottled water and stored it in the basement.

A tractor trailer load of new appliances was delivered to the store.

3. Anything that is transported by a vehicle, ship, or aircraft: The truck was carrying a load of bricks for the new wall.
4. The weight which is carried or supported by something: Deana was told that if she lost weight, it would lower the load on her knees.
5. Anything that causes worry or sadness: Logan's death is a heavy load for his wife to bear.
6. A difficult responsibility: Willa was told that there was a lot of work to be done for the project and she had to be prepared to carry her share of the load.
7. Informally, a large amount of something: Selma and Dolly told Mavis that they had had loads of fun at her birthday party.
8. The amount of work that is done or which is expected to be done: Ms. Abby had a full load of teaching work.
9. The amount of power used by an electrical device or produced by a power source: The electrical system in the building failed because it couldn't handle the heavy load of users.
10. The imposed force of pressure and weight that is supported by a structure or a body: A load is what is laid upon a person, an animal, or a vehicle for conveyance, or what is customarily imposed; such as, a two-horse load.

The same weight that a person finds to be a moderate load, when he or she is in full strength, becomes a heavy load when a person is weary or weak.

A ship's load refers to a cargo, or it may be known as freight or lading.

11. An amount of items that is washed or to be washed in a washing machine or a dishwasher in one session: Jolene does at least three loads of washing every week for her family.

1. To put a quantity of something in or on another thing or person: The delivery man was loading his vehicle with packages.

Fidel and his wife, Petra, loaded up the car for their vacation and drove off early the next morning.

2. To supply with a large amount of something: Mike's mother loaded the table with delicious foods for his birthday party.
3. To put something necessary into a device or a machine so it can function: Ken had to load his data into his computer program so it would be available for interested visitors.
4. To board a vehicle, boat, etc. with passengers: The bus stopped several times to load and to unload passengers.

Mark loaded the products into the van so they could be delivered the next day.

The maximum energy demand or load in a specified time period.

The average amount of electric power that a utility must supply in any period.

With electricity, a geographical area in which large amounts of plower are drawn by end users.

The wire, switches, fuses, etc. that connect the load to the power source.

The current required by the electrical device.

The resistance presented by the load.

Continuous electricity use by appliances, television sets, computers, and other such devices even when they are ostensibly not operating; such as, a computer or printer in "sleep" mode.

An electrical load employed to make use of excess generated power when it is not needed for its primary uses; such as, a residential photovoltaic system that employs power for domestic water heating when it is not needed for purposes as operating lights or running heating systems.

The sum of the alternating current loads.

This value is important when selecting an inverter.

A load that requires low torque at low speeds and increasing torque as the speed is increased, with very high torque being required at high speeds.