'Load line' definitions:
Definition of 'load line'
From: WordNet
noun
Waterlines to show the level the water should reach when the ship is properly loaded [syn: load line, Plimsoll line, Plimsoll mark, Plimsoll]
Definition of 'Load line'
From: GCIDE
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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]