load line

2 definitions found

load line - 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.
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     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.
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     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]

load line - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  load line
      n 1: waterlines to show the level the water should reach when
           the ship is properly loaded [syn: load line, Plimsoll line
           , Plimsoll mark, Plimsoll]