plural payloads
1
: the load carried by a vehicle exclusive of what is necessary for its operation
especially
: the load carried by an aircraft or spacecraft consisting of people or things (such as passengers or instruments) necessary to the purpose of the flight
NASA's first post-Challenger launching is tentatively set for May 1. Its payload, the NOAA-G weather satellite, will be lofted by an expendable Scout rocket. —
J. Eberhart
J. Eberhart Their objective was to size the airplane according to its intended payload. —Clive Irving
Clive Irving 2
: the weight of a payload
… the Bronco had a payload of 2000 pounds.—Darryl Young
Darryl YoungMaximum fuel load is 3,550 pounds, leaving a payload of just 360 pounds with full tanks.—J. Mac McClellan
J. Mac McClellan3
: the destructive component carried by a missile or bomb
… they did not fail to realize that a missile powerful enough to put a satellite into orbit could also deliver a nuclear payload to Washington, D.C., or New York, or Chicago, or any major American city.—Alex Wellerstein
Alex Wellerstein
also
: something likened to such a payload
American computer security experts were first to spot another worm whose virus payload was contained within an e-mail that masqueraded as a virus alert from Symantec. —Pacific Business News
Pacific Business News Thus, a potential pitfall for using adenoviruses as a vaccine delivery system is that a person's immune system may end up responding more to the adenovirus itself than the vaccine's genetic payload … —Beth Mole
Beth Mole Examples of payload in a Sentence
The truck is carrying a payload of 2,580 pounds.
the space shuttle can carry a maximum payload of approximately 50,000 pounds
Recent Examples on the Web
These methods can easily miss deeper behavioral indicators that would signal a malicious payload lurking beneath the surface.
—Alex Vakulov, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
During the eclipse, three of those science payloads worked to measure changes in lunar dust and radiation.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Mar. 2025
Apollo is the first commercial humanoid robot designed for friendly interaction, mass manufacturability, high payloads and safety, Apptronik touts.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Mar. 2025
Primary payload was commercial company Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander headed to the moon.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payload
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Alex Vakulov, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
During the eclipse, three of those science payloads worked to measure changes in lunar dust and radiation.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Mar. 2025
Apollo is the first commercial humanoid robot designed for friendly interaction, mass manufacturability, high payloads and safety, Apptronik touts.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Mar. 2025
Primary payload was commercial company Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander headed to the moon.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payload
Cite this Entry
“Payload.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payload. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
payload
noun
pay·load
ˈpā-ˌlōd 
: something (as cargo, passengers, instruments, or explosives) carried by a vehicle in addition to what is necessary for its operation
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