burden - Master This Word

burden Word Meanings

• a heavy load or responsibility
• a source of distress or worry
• to impose something on someone

burden Example Sentences

Example sentences are the start of understanding. Don't rush to memorize. First feel how the word works in a sentence.

• I feel a burden when I have too much homework.
• He does not want to be a burden to his friends.
• The heavy bag was a burden for her.
• I want to help you with your burden.
• She carried the burden of her broken promise.

burden Word Etymology

burden: burd + -en (to load) → Old English, from Germanic roots. Imagine carrying a heavy backpack that weighs you down, symbolizing responsibilities you can’t escape.

English Brain Route

I grip the box handle and shift my stance, then start to move it across the room. The weight grows heavier with every step, and I adjust my grip to keep it steady. Each inch I push is a decision to hold on or drop the load, and the burden settles on my shoulders.

Real Context

Burden can refer to a heavy physical load, but in everyday English it most often describes responsibilities, worries, or obligations that weigh you down. It captures both a tangible weight you carry and an intangible pressure you feel when tasks pile up, deadlines loom, or expectations seem excessive. You can be burdened by work, by debt, by guilt, or by another person who asks too much of you. People speak of easing or sharing a burden, transferring some of the load, or shifting the burden onto someone else in order to manage it. The verb form burden someone means to impose a responsibility or problem on another person.

Usage Reminders

• Think of burden as responsibility and weight that can be shared or shifted; use burden someone with to describe imposing tasks; bear a burden to describe carrying the load; avoid treating burden as only mental pressure; combine with prepositions carefully; vary with load, weight, duty for nuance.

Common Misconceptions

• Burden always means a physical load.
• To burden someone means you must carry their load for them.
• Burden only has negative connotations.
• All burdens are imposed by others.
• Burden and load are interchangeable in every context.

Thinking Differences

For English learners, burden often blends physical weight with abstract obligation. English frequently pairs burden with with for imposing tasks, and with bear/ carry for enduring load; learners may confuse burden with pressure or mistake it for mere stress rather than responsibility.

Learning Tips

• Practice bearing a burden with both physical and metaphorical contexts.
• Pay attention to when burden is used with 'with' (to burden someone with).
• Compare burden with load, weight, and duty for nuance.
• Notice collocations: bear a burden, carry a burden, impose a burden.
• Think of sharing or reducing a burden to express support.
• Keep an eye on tone: burden often implies obligation or weight beyond mere stress.

5-Step Learning Method - Learn English in English

Related Listening

🔥 Advanced

🔥 Advanced

Library Services: Accessing Online Resources

Library Services

2026.04.28 · 1:05 · B1 · IELTS · Dialogue

Listen Now