payload: Meaning and Definition of

pay•load

Pronunciation: (pā'lōd"), [key]
— n.
  1. the part of a cargo producing revenue or income, usually expressed in weight.
  2. the number of paying passengers, as on an airplane.
  3. a payload of 50 megatons.
    1. the bomb load, warhead, cargo, or passengers of an aircraft, a rocket, missile, etc., for delivery at a target or destination.
    2. the total complement of equipment carried by a spacecraft for the performance of a particular mission in space.
    3. the explosive energy of the warhead of a missile or of the bomb load of an aircraft:a payload of 50 megatons.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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