unladen

The dockworkers are busy as they unladen the large wooden crates from the cargo ship.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not carrying a load; empty: "unladen" describes a vehicle, animal, or container that is not carrying any cargo, goods, or weight.
   • Without a burden: In a figurative sense, it can refer to a person or thing free from a heavy load or responsibility.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The truck returned to the warehouse unladen. (The truck was empty, without cargo.)
  • An unladen swallow can fly faster than one carrying a coconut. (A bird without a weight in its beak moves more quickly.)

Advanced Usage

• "unladen weight": the weight of a vehicle or container when it is empty, without passengers, cargo, or fuel.

  • The unladen weight of the lorry is 5,000 kilograms. (The vehicle's weight with no load.)

• "unladen flight": a journey made by an aircraft without passengers or freight.

  • The airline schedules unladen flights to reposition aircraft. (Empty flights to move planes to different airports.)

Variants and Related Words

• Laden (adj): heavily loaded; weighed down.

  • The branches were laden with fruit. (The branches were heavy with fruit.)

• Unload (verb): to remove a load from a vehicle or container.

  • They unloaded the ship at the dock. (They removed the cargo.)

Synonyms

• Empty: containing nothing; not filled.
• Unburdened: free from a heavy load or responsibility.
• Vacant: having no contents; unoccupied.

Related Idioms

• Light as a feather: very light in weight.
  • After delivering the packages, the van was as light as a feather. (The van was unladen and easy to drive.)