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unload

/ˈʌnˌloʊd/
/ənˈlʌʊd/
IPA guide

Other forms: unloaded; unloading; unloads

To unload is to remove cargo from a vehicle or shipping carton. Unload can also mean to discharge or get rid of something, or to get something off your chest.

A clothing store might unload (remove) a hundred cartons from the delivery truck, and then unload (unpack) shirts and pants from the cartons. If a carton of clothes is imperfect, the store might send them back or unload (dispossess themselves of) them by selling them cheaply to a factory-seconds outlet. Then the store manager, depending on her mood, might unload on (give a tongue-lashing to) the manufacturer for shipping shoddy products.

Definitions of unload
  1. verb
    leave or unload
    unload the cargo”
    see moresee less
    types:
    wharf
    discharge at a wharf
    air-drop
    drop (an object) from the air; unload from a plane or helicopter
    type of:
    deliver
    bring to a destination, make a delivery
  2. verb
    take the load off (a container or vehicle)
    unload the truck”
    synonyms: offload, unlade
    see moresee less
    type of:
    empty
    remove
Pronunciation
US
/ˈʌnˌloʊd/
UK
/ənˈlʌʊd/
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