English

Verb

loaded

1. simple past tense and past participle of load

Adjective

loaded ‎(comparative more loaded, superlative most loaded)

1. Burdened by some heavy load; packed.

   Let's leave the TV; the car is loaded already.

   • 1737, The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 7, page 780,

     With regard to France and Holland, therefore, I muſt think, Sir, and it has always been the general Opinion, that the Subjects of each are more loaded and more oppreſſed with Taxes and Exciſes than the People of this Kingdom ;

   • 1812, Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, Volume 8, page 118,

     […] the fever began to assume a low type ; the tongue became loaded with a thick brown crust ; […] .

   • 1888, Leonardo Da Vinci, Jean Paul Richter (translator), The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, XIII: Theoretical writings on Architecture,

     […] and for that reason the arches of the vaults of any apse should never be more loaded than the arches of the principal building.

   • 1913, Africa, article in Catholic Encyclopedia,

     What is known concerning supernatural matters is a sort of common deposit, guarded by everybody, and handed down without any intervention on the part of an authority; fuller in one place, scantier in another, or, again, more loaded with external symbols according to the intelligence, the temperament, the organization, the habits, and the manner of the people's life.

   • 2011, Matt Rogan, Martin Rogan, Britain and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Legacy, page 15,

     What had traditionally been a morally neutral sport became loaded with a set of Victorian values.

2. (of a projectile weapon) Having a live round of ammunition in the chamber; armed.

   No funny business; this heater's loaded!

3. (slang) Possessing great wealth.

   He sold his business a couple of years ago and is just loaded.

4. (slang) Drunk.

   By the end of the evening, the guests in the club were really loaded.

5. (baseball) Pertaining to a situation where there is a runner at each of the three bases.

   It's bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded and there are two outs.

6. (dice games, also used figuratively) a die or dice being Weighted asymmetrically, and so biased to produce predictable throws.

   He was playing with loaded dice and won a fortune.

   • 1996, Elaine Creith, Undressing Lesbian Sex, page 49,

     The more we invest in a sexual encounter in a particular person, the more loaded the dice in a dating game that we are forever reminded we must play to win.

   • 1997, Joe Slovo, Slovo: The Unfinished Autobiography, page 80,

     If you add to this the fact that the magistrate and the police sergeant are close friends, then the dice could not have been more loaded against my client.

   • 2009, Michèle Lowrie, Horace: Odes and Epodes, page 224,

     Horace has been crippled by being set off against the 'sincerity' and 'spontaneity' of these two; when it comes to the Greek lyricists, the dice are even more loaded against our poet, for the Greeks have not only spontaneity and sincerity on their side, but a phalanx of yet more formidable allies […] .

7. (of a question) Designed to produce a predictable answer, or to lay a trap.

   That interviewer is tricky; he asks loaded questions.

8. (of a word or phrase) Having strong connotations that colour the literal meaning and are likely to provoke an emotional response. Sometimes used loosely to describe a word that simply has many different meanings.

   "Ignorant" is a loaded word, often implying lack of intelligence rather than just lack of knowledge.

   • 2993, L. Susan Bond, Contemporary African American Preaching: Diversity in Theory and Style, page 30,

     The more loaded phrase is the middle one, "she slit his gullet," since it captures a sense of crudeness and suddenness that the other two do not.

9. (of an item offered for sale, especially an automobile) Equipped with numerous options; deluxe.

   She went all out; her new car is loaded.

10. (food, colloquial) Covered with a topping or toppings.

    loaded fries; loaded potato wedges

Related terms

• loaded for bear

Translations