unˈload, v.
[un-2 3. Cf. unlade v.]
1. a. trans. To take off, remove (something carried or conveyed); to discharge (a cargo).
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §29 Benes..bounden..are the more redyer to lode and vnlode. 1600–1 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 483 Payd to diuerse labourers for..vnloadinge great tymber. 1643 Baker Chron., Eliz. 91 The wealth of an East-Indian Caraque was lately unloden. 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 175 The Man caus'd the Goods to be unloaden and lay'd at the Door. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 31 The canal here.. admitting large vessels to..unload their cargoes. 1884 Macm. Mag. Oct. 426/2 One..green brig..was unloading shaddocks from Naxos. |
b. fig. To discharge, give vent to (feelings); to communicate or transfer to another. Also with on.
| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. i. 76 To you Duke Humfrey must vnload his greefe. a 1656 Hales Gold. Rem. (1688) 159 An Excuse to unlode your faults upon the Devil. 1697 Dryden æneis xii. 1165 Reclined upon my breast, thy grief unload. 1775 Smollett Quix. II. 296 Now..you may unrip, and unload, all that lies on your sorrowful heart. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxii, He unloaded his discontent in such grumblings. 1887 B. Harte Millionaire & Devil's Ford 158 He might unload his gossip because Mamie wouldn't have him. 1904 Minneapolis Times 28 June 6 Dr. Dowie has landed in New York and unloaded an interview in praise of President Roosevelt. 1976 J. I. M. Stewart Memorial Service v. 66 This was probably why he unloaded on me these useless gobbets of information. 1978 ‘S. Woods’ Exit Murderer 160 If we succeed in identifying Mr. X I shall unload the whole thing on them [sc. the police]. |
c. To discharge or pour (a liquid). rare.
| 1603 Drayton Bar. Wars vi. xxiv, When som brook..By swelling waters..shouldreth downe his mownd, And from his course dooth quite himselfe vnloade. c 1630 Risdon Surv. Devon §42 The river Tale..unloadeth itself into the river Otter. 1891 A. Welcker Wild West 68 He unloaded the other bottle of gin into himself. |
2. a. absol. To perform the operation of unloading.
| 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1544/2 Sheluers..pulled downe the courts as soone as they came to the place where it was needfull to vnlode. 1614 Gorges Lucan vii. 269 Those streames..spread their springs abrode, And in Timavas flood vnlode. 1635 J. Taylor (Water P.) Very Old Man B 2, The Harrow, Mattock,..Goad, And Whip, and how to Load, and to Vnload. 1710 Swift Poems, Atlas 6 The pedlar overpress'd Unloads upon a stall to rest. 1855 Poultry Chron. II. 500/1 One of the company's collecting-carts had just arrived, and was unloading. |
(b) fig.: esp., to confide in someone, to divulge information, etc. Also with on.
| 1885 Howells Silas Lapham (1891) I. 83, I was loaded up with a partner that..couldn't do anything, and I un⁓loaded; that's all. 1904 W. H. Smith Promoters i. 8 I'm so full of it that I shall burst if I don't unload. 1972 ‘J. Godey’ Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome (1973) ii. 27 If you get along with your cell partner, you usually unload. I did the same with him. 1978 ‘D. Kyle’ Black Camelot xii. 185 ‘What's the problem with this German? Why won't he unload?’.. ‘He thinks once he comes through..we'll knock him off because he knows too much.’ 1984 Miami Herald 30 Mar. 3 b/1 Your letter exhibits a great deal of bottled rage. I strongly suggest that you unload on a counselor. |
b. Naut. Of vessels: To discharge cargo.
| 1799 Hull Advertiser 4 May 2/2 The Wasp has come into Leith harbour to unload. 1865 Milton & W. B. Cheadle N.-W. Passage vi, Whilst it [sc. a barge] was unloading. |
3. a. trans. (and refl.). To free, relieve, or divest of a load or burden; to clear of something heavy or bulky.
| 1591 H. Smith Exam. Vsurie 3 When hee hath loden him⁓selfe like a cart, he shall be vnloden like a cart againe. 1648 T. Gage West Ind. xvii. 114 The Indians helped one another to unload and load the mule. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 554 Besides thy daily pain T' unload the Branches, or the Leaves to thin. 1751 C. Labelye Westm. Bridge 81 The Commissioners..moved the Board..to unload the said Pier. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 145 He is trained to lie down when he receives his load and to be unloaded. 1894 S. Fiske Holiday Stories (1900) 28 Unload yourself and pull up a chair. |
b. To relieve by evacuation. Chiefly Med.
| 1653 J. Taylor (Water P.) Cert. Trav. Uncert. Journ. 21 If to unloade your Bellies, Nature drive ye. 1764 Grainger Sugar Cane iv. 124 With sempre vive Unload their bowels. 1822 Good Study Med. III. 437 Brisk purging..unloads the infarcted viscera. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 441 Tartar emetic is rarely used simply to unload the stomach. |
c. To relieve (the heart, etc.) by utterance.
| 1720 Miss Vanhomrigh in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 289, I must..unload my heart, and tell you all its griefs. 1808 Scott Marm. iv. xviii, By that strong emotion press'd, Which prompts us to unload our breast, Even when discovery's pain. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. iii. 40 If thou cam'st hither to unload thy soul, Kneel down. |
d. To relieve (one) of something burdensome.
| a 1721 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1723) II. 207 Antony..having a secret satisfaction in being unloaded of such a friend; who was..sometimes troublesome. 1776 Ann. Reg., Char. 49/2 When America is better peopled,..the plains unloaded of their vast forests and cultivated. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 15 Oct. 1/2 A very sagacious tendency to unload himself of mansions rather than to take on new ones. |
4. To discharge the cargo from (a vessel).
| 1599 E. Wright Voy. Earl Cumbld. 19 in Cert. Err. Navig., Thre of the greatest..were vnloden of their..marchandise. 1671 New Jersey Archives (1880) I. 64 Wheras a certain Vessell or Ship hath..bine unloaden & loaden contrary to an Act of Parliament. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. v. 173 To assist him in unloading the Sloop. 1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 197 Here it was necessary to unload the canoes. 1885 W. H. White M. Rutherford's Deliv. iii, ‘Guffy’..got drunk, unloaded barges [etc.]. |
5. † a. To discharge, fire off (artillery, etc.). Obs.
| 1625 Massinger New Way v. i, [I can now] Unload my great artillery, and shake..the walls. 1712 Blackmore Creation iv. 444 The powder which destructive guns explode, And by its force their hollow wombs unload. 1755 Johnson, Discharge,..to unload a gun. |
b. To withdraw the charge from (a fire-arm, cartridge, etc.).
| 1709 Steele Tatler No. 82 ¶8 A Pistol which he knew he had unloaded the Night before. 1734 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 192 His instructions..concerning unloading the Artillery. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! xxi, ‘You took care to flood the powder?’ ‘Ay, ay, sir, and to unload the ordnance too.’ |
6. a. Stock Exchange. To get rid of, dispose of, sell out (stock, etc.).
| 1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Mysteries Wall St. 138 To unload, is to sell out a stock which has been carried for some time. 1876 ‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 359 Bulls rush in to aid their philanthropic game of Unloading, as we term it, their expensive wares. 1893 Nation (N.Y.) 21 Sept. 204/2 The American passion for speculation—that is, for getting hold of something to be unloaded rapidly on somebody else. |
| absol. 1888 Daily News 16 Feb. 6/2 New York...‘Bears’ selling freely, and ‘bulls’ unloading, combined to depress values. |
b. transf. To sell or dispose of (anything); to get rid of by sale; esp. to dispose profitably of something that is unwanted or that constitutes an embarrassment. Also with on.
| 1884 Boston Jrnl. 15 Mar. 2/3 There is a flavor of reviving an excitement in order to unload oil lands. 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ ii. 30 They're going to make a mighty good try at unloading it on him and making him pay for it. 1929 D. Hammett Dain Curse v. 40 That dinge of yours—Rhino Tingley—was picked up in a hock shop last night trying to unload some jewelry. 1946 Time 25 Mar. 82/3 Many a landlord..has already unloaded a building, at a fat price, on his tenants. 1976 ‘M. Delving’ China Expert v. 56 Tashjian..had only the day before unloaded an extremely dubious Han tomb figurine on an unsuspecting dealer. |
c. To get rid of (a person).
| 1973 E.-J. Bahr Nice Neighbourhood xiii. 139 John wasn't about to be any problem when she had everything set up and wanted to unload him. 1982 C. Watson Whatever's been going on at Mumblesby? xvi. 150 Cork-Bradden's main object was to ‘unload’ the woman on to me, in order to placate his wife. |
Hence unˈloader, one who or that which unloads.
| 1611 Florio, Scarcatore, a discharger, an vnloder. 1880 J. W. Hill Guide Agric. Implements 469 An efficient Sack Lifter, Loader, Unloader, and Shooter. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 24 As in the case of unloaders of grain-ships. |
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Add: [5.] c. Sport (chiefly Boxing). To deliver (a stroke or blow) forcefully. Also occas. absol. Cf. unleash v.
| 1974 Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 6/3 Mike Williams..unloaded a triple down the rightfield line. 1976 Scotsman 25 Nov. 25/4 Sollas..stalked his man round the ring, unloading punches to the head and body. 1987 Boxing News 21 Aug. 2/2 When unloading on Louis Burke, he showed his ability to hit fast and hard on target. 1987 Evening Tel. (Grimsby) 30 Oct. 18 Hearns staggered Roldan with an overhand right just a moment before unloading a short right to the head. |