What does burden mean?

Definitions for burden
ˈbɜr dnbur·den

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word burden.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. burden, load, encumbrance, incumbrance, onusnoun

    an onerous or difficult concern

    "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind"

  2. load, loading, burdennoun

    weight to be borne or conveyed

  3. effect, essence, burden, core, gistnoun

    the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

  4. burdenverb

    the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse

  5. burden, burthen, weight, weight downverb

    weight down with a load

  6. charge, saddle, burdenverb

    impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to

    "He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend"

Wiktionary

  1. burdennoun

    A heavy load.

  2. burdennoun

    A responsibility, onus.

  3. burdennoun

    A cause of worry.

  4. burdennoun

    A phrase or theme that recurs at the end of each verse in a folk song or ballad; the drone of a bagpipe.

  5. burdennoun

    Theme, core idea.

  6. burdenverb

    To encumber with a burden (in any of the noun senses of the word).

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. BURDENnoun

    Etymology: byrðen, Sax. and therefore properly written burthen. It is supposed to come from burdo, Lat. a male, as onus from ὄνος, an ass.

    Camels have their provender
    Only for bearing burdens, and sore blows
    For sinking under them. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    It is of use in lading of ships, and may help to shew what burden in the several kinds they will bear. Francis Bacon, Phys. Rem.

    Couldst thou support
    That burden, heavier than the earth to bear? Par. Lost, b. x.

    None of the things they are to learn, should ever be made a burden to them, or imposed on them as a task. John Locke.

    Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone,
    To all my friends a burden grown. Jonathan Swift.

    Thou hadst a wife once, called Æmilia,
    That bore thee at a burden two fair sons. William Shakespeare.

    At ev’ry close she made, th’ attending throng
    Reply’d, and bore the burden of the song. John Dryden, Fab.

  2. To Burdenverb

    To load; to incumber.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    Burden not thyself above thy power. Ecclus, xiii. 2.

    I mean not that other men be eased, and you burdened. Cor. viii. 13.

ChatGPT

  1. burden

    A burden is a heavy load or responsibility that one is required or feel obligated to carry, often resulting in physical, emotional, or mental strain. It can refer to a variety of things such as duties, obligations, problems, difficulties, or challenges that can weigh on a person or a group.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Burdennoun

    that which is borne or carried; a load

  2. Burdennoun

    that which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive

  3. Burdennoun

    the capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden

  4. Burdennoun

    the tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin

  5. Burdennoun

    the proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace

  6. Burdennoun

    a fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds

  7. Burdennoun

    a birth

  8. Burdenverb

    to encumber with weight (literal or figurative); to lay a heavy load upon; to load

  9. Burdenverb

    to oppress with anything grievous or trying; to overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes

  10. Burdenverb

    to impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable)

  11. Burdennoun

    the verse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer

  12. Burdennoun

    the drone of a bagpipe

  13. Burdennoun

    a club

Wikidata

  1. Burden

    Burden is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 535.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Burden

    bur′dn, n. a load: weight: cargo: that which is grievous, oppressive, or difficult to bear, as blame, sin, sorrow, &c.: birth.—v.t. to load: to oppress: to encumber.—adjs. Bur′denous, Bur′densome, heavy: oppressive.—Burden of proof, in legal procedure, signifies the obligation to establish by evidence certain disputed facts. [A.S. byrthenberan, to bear.]

  2. Burden

    bur′dn, n. part of a song repeated at the end of every stanza, refrain: the leading idea of anything: a load of care, sorrow, or responsibility. [Fr. bourdon, a humming tone in music—Low L. burdo, a drone or non-working bee.]

  3. Burden

    bur′dn, n. (Spens.) a pilgrim's staff. [See Bourdon.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. burden

    Is the quantity of contents or number of tons weight of goods or munitions which a ship will carry, when loaded to a proper sea-trim: and this is ascertained by certain fixed rules of measurement. The precise burden or burthen is about twice the tonnage, but then a vessel would be deemed deeply laden.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. BURDEN

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Burden is ranked #2770 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Burden surname appeared 13,028 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 would have the surname Burden.

    66.5% or 8,670 total occurrences were White.
    27.8% or 3,624 total occurrences were Black.
    2.3% or 311 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.2% or 294 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.5% or 76 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.4% or 52 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'burden' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3693

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'burden' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4603

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'burden' in Nouns Frequency: #1388

Anagrams for burden »

  1. unbred

  2. burned

  3. bunder

How to pronounce burden?

How to say burden in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of burden in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of burden in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of burden in a Sentence

  1. Baba Faiz:

    Try to Leave an stamp of your thoughts on the readers, not the burden of your words.

  2. Neil Selfe:

    The regulatory burden has been removed and as a result the market has opened up, it's a very active M&A market.

  3. Rebecca Siegel:

    This report is very important because it not only provides a snapshot of the current colorectal cancer burden, but also a window to the future.

  4. Andreea Creanga:

    Because women are delaying childbearing, a larger proportion of them are likely entering pregnancy with a burden of chronic disease conditions, many studies have shown that an increasing number of pregnant women in the United States have chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic heart disease and all these conditions can put a pregnant woman at higher risk of pregnancy complications.

  5. Brett Kavanaugh:

    , } Accusers do not tend to fare well in word-on-word clashes. As I have described, skepticism of sexual violence complaints has shape-shifted over time. Yet it remains firmly lodged. The staying power of credibility discounting is a notable feature — perhaps even the dominant feature — of our response to rape.This may be changing. The #MeToo movement is challenging a societal default to doubt, and the past year has brought undeniable progress. Yet even as sexual misconduct complaints are met with newfound receptivity, it is worth noting that lone accusers continue to bear a special burden. ( It seems unlikely that Senate Republicans will ask the FBI to investigate two other accusers' reports against Brett Kavanaugh, or even that they will be asked to testify before Senate Judiciary Committee.) Many survivors of sexual violence are deterred by the likelihood of a swearing contest. But Ford — in the face of death threats — has agreed to appear before Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Republicans walks into a.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

burden#1#6303#10000

Translations for burden

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"burden." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/burden>.

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