The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Load \Load\ (l[=o]d), n. [OE. lode load, way; properly the same
   word as lode, but confused with lade, load, v. See Lade,
   Lead, v., Lode.]
   1. A burden; that which is laid on or put in anything for
      conveyance; that which is borne or sustained; a weight;
      as, a heavy load.
      [1913 Webster]

            He might such a load
            To town with his ass carry.           --Gower.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The quantity which can be carried or drawn in some
      specified way; the contents of a cart, barrow, or vessel;
      that which will constitute a cargo; lading.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. That which burdens, oppresses, or grieves the mind or
      spirits; as, a load of care. " A . . . load of guilt."
      --Ray. " Our life's a load." --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A particular measure for certain articles, being as much
      as may be carried at one time by the conveyance commonly
      used for the article measured; as, a load of wood; a load
      of hay; specifically, five quarters.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. The charge of a firearm; as, a load of powder.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. Weight or violence of blows. [Obs.] --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Mach.) The work done by a steam engine or other prime
      mover when working.
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   8. The amount of work that a person, group, or machine is
      assigned to perform; as, the boss distributed the load
      evenly among his employees.
      [PJC]

   9. (Elec.) The device or devices that consume power from a
      power supply.
      [PJC]

   10. (Engineering) The weight or force that a structural
       support bears or is designed to bear; the object that
       creates that force.
       [PJC]

   Load line, or Load water line (Naut.), the line on the
      outside of a vessel indicating the depth to which it sinks
      in the water when loaded.

   Syn: Burden; lading; weight; cargo. See Burden.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Load \Load\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Loaded; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Loading. Loaden is obsolete, and laden belongs to lade.]
   1. To lay a load or burden on or in, as on a horse or in a
      cart; to charge with a load, as a gun; to furnish with a
      lading or cargo, as a ship; hence, to add weight to, so as
      to oppress or embarrass; to heap upon.
      [1913 Webster]

            I strive all in vain to load the cart. --Gascoigne.
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            I have loaden me with many spoils.    --Shak.
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            Those honors deep and broad, wherewith
            Your majesty loads our house.         --Shak.
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   2. To adulterate or drug; as, to load wine. [Cant]
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   3. To magnetize. [Obs.] --Prior.
      [1913 Webster]

   Loaded dice, dice with one side made heavier than the
      others, so that the number on the opposite side will come
      up oftenest.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

load
    n 1: weight to be borne or conveyed [syn: load, loading,
         burden]
    2: a quantity that can be processed or transported at one time;
       "the system broke down under excessive loads" [syn: load,
       loading]
    3: goods carried by a large vehicle [syn: cargo, lading,
       freight, load, loading, payload, shipment,
       consignment]
    4: an amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate; "he got a load
       on and started a brawl"
    5: the power output of a generator or power plant
    6: an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of
       responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind" [syn: burden,
       load, encumbrance, incumbrance, onus]
    7: a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite
       boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks [syn: lode,
       load]
    8: the front part of a guided missile or rocket or torpedo that
       carries the nuclear or explosive charge or the chemical or
       biological agents [syn: warhead, payload, load]
    9: electrical device to which electrical power is delivered
    v 1: fill or place a load on; "load a car"; "load the truck with
         hay" [syn: load, lade, laden, load up]
    2: provide (a device) with something necessary; "He loaded his
       gun carefully"; "load the camera" [syn: load, charge]
    3: transfer from a storage device to a computer's memory
    4: put (something) on a structure or conveyance; "load the bags
       onto the trucks"
    5: corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or
       inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients
       with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn: load,
       adulterate, stretch, dilute, debase]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

load

   1. To copy data (often program code to be run) into
   memory, possibly parsing it somehow in the process.
   E.g. "WordPerfect can't load this RTF file - are you sure
   it didn't get corrupted in the download?"  Opposite of
   save.

   2. The degree to which a computer, network, or other
   resource is used, sometimes expressed as a percentage of the
   maximum available.  E.g. "What kind of CPU load does that
   program give?", "The network's constantly running at 100%
   load".  Sometimes used, by extension, to mean "to increase the
   level of use of a resource".  E.g. "Loading a spreadsheet
   really loads the CPU".  See also: load balancing.

   3. To install a piece of software onto a system.
   E.g. "The computer guy is gonna come load Excel on my laptop
   for me".  This usage is widely considered to be incorrect.

   (2002-07-02)