anything one has to bear or put up with; heavy load, as of work, duty, responsibility, or sorrow
the carrying of loads: a beast of burden
the carrying capacity of a ship
transitive verb
to put a burden on; load; weigh down; oppress
noun
Archaic a bass accompaniment in music
a chorus or refrain of a song
the drone of a bagpipe
a repeated, central idea; theme: the burden of a speech
See burden in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(bûrˈdn)
noun
Something that is carried.
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.
A responsibility or duty: The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me.
Nautical
a. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.
b. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.
The amount of a disease-causing entity present in an organism.
transitive verbbur·dened, bur·den·ing, bur·dens
To weigh down; oppress.
To load or overload.
(bûrˈdn)
noun
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.
Music
a. The chorus or refrain of a composition, especially of a 15th-century carol.