li v|ing wi ll (living wills ) N‑COUNT A living will is a document in which you say what medical or legal decisions you want people to make for you if you become too ill to make these decisions yourself.
liz|ard /l I zə r d/ (lizards ) N‑COUNT A lizard is a reptile with short legs and a long tail.
-'ll /- ə l/ -'ll is the usual spoken form of 'will'. It is added to the end of the pronoun which is the subject of the verb. For example, 'you will' can be shortened to 'you'll'.
lla|ma /lɑː mə/ (llamas ) N‑COUNT A llama is a South American animal with thick hair, which looks like a small camel without a hump.
lo /loʊ / CONVENTION Lo and behold or lo is used to emphasize a surprising event that is about to be mentioned, or to emphasize in a humorous way that something is not surprising at all. [HUMOROUS or LITERARY , EMPHASIS ] □ He called the minister of the interior and, lo and behold, the prisoners were released. □ I looked and lo! every one of the men had disappeared.
load ◆◇◇ /loʊ d/ (loads , loading , loaded )
1 VERB If you load a vehicle or a container, you put a large quantity of things into it. □ [V n] The three men seemed to have finished loading the truck. □ [V n + with ] Mr. Dambar had loaded his plate with lasagne. □ [V n + into/onto ] They load all their equipment into backpacks. □ [V -ed] She deposited the loaded tray. ● PHRASAL VERB Load up means the same as load . □ [V n P ] I've just loaded my truck up. □ [V P n] The giggling couple loaded up their red sports car and drove off. □ [V P n + with ] We loaded up carts with all the blankets, bandages, medication, water we could spare. □ [V P n + into/onto ] She loaded up his collection of vintage wines into crates. [Also V n P + with/into/onto ] ● load|ing N‑SING □ …the loading of baggage onto international flights.
2 N‑COUNT A load is something, usually a large quantity or heavy object, which is being carried. □ [+ of ] He drove by with a big load of hay. □ He was carrying a very heavy load.
3 QUANT If you refer to a load of people or things or loads of them, you are emphasizing that there are a lot of them. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ [+ of ] I've got loads of money. □ [+ of ] His people came up with a load of embarrassing information. □ [+ of ] …a load of kids.
4 VERB When someone loads a weapon such as a gun, they put a bullet or missile in it so that it is ready to use. □ [V n] I knew how to load and handle a gun. □ [V -ed] He carried a loaded gun.
5 VERB To load a piece of equipment means to put something into it so that it is ready to use. □ [V n ] She made us clean our room and load the dishwasher. □ [be V -ed + into/onto/on ] The data can subsequently be loaded on a computer for processing.
6 N‑COUNT You can refer to the amount of work you have to do as a load . □ [+ off ] She's taking some of the load off the secretaries.
7 N‑COUNT The load of a system or piece of equipment, especially a system supplying electricity or a computer, is the extent to which it is being used at a particular time. □ [+ of ] An efficient bulb may lighten the load of power stations. □ [+ of ] Several processors can share the load of handling data in a single program.
8 N‑SING The load on something is the amount of weight that is pressing down on it or the amount of strain that it is under. □ [+ on ] Some of these chairs have flattened feet which spread the load on the ground. □ [+ on ] High blood pressure imposes an extra load on the heart.
9 → see also loaded
10 a load off your mind → see mind ➊
▸ load up → see load 1 SYNONYMS load VERB 1
pack: When I was 17, I packed my bags and left home.
stuff: He grabbed my purse, opened it and stuffed it full, then gave it back to me.
pile: He was piling clothes into the suitcase.
-load /-loʊd/ (-loads ) COMB -load combines with nouns referring to a vehicle or container to form nouns that refer to the total amount of something that the vehicle or container mentioned can hold or carry. □ [+ of ] The first plane-loads of food, children's clothing and medical supplies began arriving. □ [+ of ] …a lorry-load of sheep on their way across Europe.
load|ed /loʊ d I d/
1 ADJ A loaded question or word has more meaning or purpose than it appears to have, because the person who uses it hopes it will cause people to respond in a particular way. □ That's a loaded question. □ …the loaded word 'sexist'.
2 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If something is loaded with a particular characteristic, it has that characteristic to a very great degree. □ [+ with ] The President's visit is loaded with symbolic significance. □ [+ with ] The phrase is loaded with irony.
3 ADJ If you say that something is loaded in favour of someone, you mean it works unfairly to their advantage. If you say it is loaded against them, you mean it works unfairly to their disadvantage. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ in favour of ] The press is loaded in favour of this present government. □ [+ against ] The article was heavily loaded against Morrissey.
loaf /loʊ f/ (loaves ) N‑COUNT A loaf of bread is bread which has been shaped and baked in one piece. It is usually large enough for more than one person and can be cut into slices. □ [+ of ] …a loaf of crusty bread. □ …freshly baked loaves.