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Burden   /bˈərdən/   Listen
noun
Burden  n.  (Written also burthen)  
1.
That which is borne or carried; a load. "Plants with goodly burden bowing."
2.
That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive. "Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone, To all my friends a burden grown."
3.
The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.
4.
(Mining) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
5.
(Metal.) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
6.
A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
7.
A birth. (Obs. & R.)
Beast of burden, an animal employed in carrying burdens.
Burden of proof (Law), the duty of proving a particular position in a court of law, a failure in the performance of which duty calls for judgment against the party on whom the duty is imposed.
Synonyms: Burden, Load. A burden is, in the literal sense, a weight to be borne; a load is something laid upon us to be carried. Hence, when used figuratively, there is usually a difference between the two words. Our burdens may be of such a nature that we feel bound to bear them cheerfully or without complaint. They may arise from the nature of our situation; they may be allotments of Providence; they may be the consequences of our errors. What is upon us, as a load, we commonly carry with greater reluctance or sense of oppression. Men often find the charge of their own families to be a burden; but if to this be added a load of care for others, the pressure is usually serve and irksome.


Burden  n.  
1.
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. "I would sing my song without a burden."
2.
The drone of a bagpipe.


Burden  n.  A club. (Obs.)


verb
Burden  v. t.  (past & past part. burdened; pres. part. burdening)  
1.
To encumber with weight (literal or figurative); to lay a heavy load upon; to load. "I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened."
2.
To oppress with anything grievous or trying; to overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes. "My burdened heart would break."
3.
To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable). (R.) "It is absurd to burden this act on Cromwell."
Synonyms: To load; encumber; overload; oppress.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Burden" Quotes from Famous Books



... the vicious error, drawn from the analogy of a private man and a state, that national wealth consisted in the precious metals. The stringent and universal laws against the export of specie and intended to encourage its import, proved a considerable burden on trade, though as a matter of fact they only retarded and did not stop the flow of coin. The striking rise in prices during the century attracted some attention. Various causes were assigned for it, among others the growth of population and the increase of luxury. Hardly anyone saw that the ...
— The Age of the Reformation • Preserved Smith
... people replied, 'No mountain or river god possesses this altar, but she whom royal Juno in her jealousy drove from land to land, denying her any spot of earth whereon to rear her twins. Bearing in her arms the infant deities, Latona reached this land, weary with her burden and parched with thirst. By chance she espied in the bottom of the valley this pond of clear water, where the country people were at work gathering willows and osiers. The goddess approached, and kneeling on the bank would have slaked her thirst in the cool stream, ...
— TITLE • AUTHOR
... my correspondents neglect to slip a 3-cent postage-stamp into their letters, for the answer. You are sending but one letter, you know, while I get so many hundreds of letters that to prepay postage on all the answers to them would be no small burden ...
— The Tin Woodman of Oz • L. Frank Baum
... experience; in the south recalcitrant Boers and hostile Kaffirs caused almost endless trouble. The visions once entertained of vigorous negro communities at once civilized and Christian faded away; to the hot fit of philanthropy succeeded the cold fit of indifference and a disinclination to bear the burden of empire. The low-water mark of British interest in South Africa was reached in 1854 when independence was forced on the Orange River Boers, while in 1865 the mind of the nation was fairly reflected by the unanimous resolution of ...
— Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia
... triumph in this battle. The devil knows it and has put forth every effort to forestall this great reform. Look at the shop windows, loaded with every style and fashion to attract the eyes of the passing woman. Things that will be but a burden to her, will cause her to use the earnings of her husband and the patrimony of her children and destroy her mother influence and bring upon her just censure of her husband. This is not the rule but the exception, for women, ...
— The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation • Carry A. Nation


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