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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Burden: Meaning, Examples, and Common Collocations (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：emotional or mental weight (burden)

burden 🔊

/ˈbɜːrdən/

n., v.

Something difficult or unpleasant that you have to deal with or worry about.

Burden emotional weight illustration with worry rocks on back

emotional or mental weight 🔊

➕

/ɪˈmoʊʃənl ɔːr ˈmentl weɪt/

n., v.

A source of worry, stress, or obligation that feels oppressive.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'byrthen', meaning 'that which is carried', related to 'bear' (to carry).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a bird carrying a heavy branch: 'burden' sounds like 'bird-in' a heavy load.

📖 Example

Balancing school, a part-time job, and family duties became a huge burden on her, leaving her feeling constantly stressed. 🔊 Balancing school, a part-time job, and family duties became a huge emotional weight on her, leaving her feeling constantly stressed.

🔗 Collocations

carry a burden – to bear a heavy responsibility or worry

burden of proof – the obligation to prove a claim in law

financial burden – a heavy expense or debt that causes strain

🔄 Synonyms

load (n.) – Something heavy to carry, often figuratively for responsibility

weight (n.) – A burden or oppressive feeling

stress (n.) – Mental or emotional strain from difficult demands

🚫 Antonyms

relief (n.) – Removal of a burden or worry

ease (n.) – Freedom from difficulty or burden

🌱 Derivatives

burdensome (adj.) – Difficult to bear; oppressive

burdened (adj.) – Carrying a heavy load or responsibility

📖 Cultural Story

The word traces back to Proto-Germanic *burthinjo-, linked to the verb 'to bear'. In medieval English, it evolved to describe both physical loads and heavy responsibilities, a metaphor still common today.

Meaning 2：physical heavy load (burden)

burden 🔊

/ˈbɜːrdən/

n., v.

A heavy load that is physically carried.

physical heavy load 🔊

➕

/ˈfɪzɪkl ˈhɛvi loʊd/

n., v.

A large, heavy object that is carried or transported.

📁 Category：Objects & Materials 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The delivery worker carried the heavy burden of large boxes up five flights of stairs. 🔊 The delivery worker carried the heavy physical load of large boxes up five flights of stairs.

🔗 Collocations

bear a burden – to physically carry a heavy load

heavy burden – a load that is difficult to lift or move

burden of supplies – a load of essential goods being transported

🔄 Synonyms

load (n.) – Something carried or transported

cargo (n.) – Goods carried by a ship, aircraft, or vehicle

weight (n.) – The heaviness of an object

🚫 Antonyms

lightness (n.) – Lack of weight; ease of carrying

🌱 Derivatives

unburden (v.) – To remove a heavy load from someone or something