burden

(bûrˈdn)

1. Something that is carried.
2. a. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
   b. A source of great worry or stress; weight: The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the workers of the plant.
3. A responsibility or duty: The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me.
4. Nautical
   a. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.
   b. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.
5. The amount of a disease-causing entity present in an organism.

1. To weigh down; oppress.
2. To load or overload.

(bûrˈdn)

1. A principal or recurring idea; a theme: “The burden of what he said was to defend enthusiastically the conservative aristocracy” (J.A. Froude). See Synonyms at substance.
2. Music
   a. The chorus or refrain of a composition, especially of a 15th-century carol.
   b. A drone, as of a bagpipe or pedal point.
   c. Archaic The bass accompaniment to a song.