English Word Reference Free

payload

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "payload", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "payload" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "payload" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

payload is aEnglishnoun. It means: That part of a cargo that produces revenue. Pronounced /ˈpeɪloʊd/.

Compare similar words

See how payload compares against similar English words.

Browse all word comparisons →
Key facts for payload
PropertyValue
Headwordpayload
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpeɪloʊd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,153
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of payload in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for payload is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpeɪloʊd/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,153 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for payload, with forms such as "apyload", "palyoad", and "paylaod". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pay + load. From the early 20th century. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is payload, spelled P-A-Y-L-O-A-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    That part of a cargo that produces revenue.
  2. 2
    The total weight of passengers, crew, equipment, and cargo carried by an aircraft or spacecraft.
  3. 3
    That part of a rocket, missile, propelled stinger, or torpedo that is not concerned with propulsion or guidance, such as a warhead or satellite.
  4. 4
    The functional part of a computer virus or another type of malware program, rather than the part that spreads it.
  5. 5
    The actual data in a data stream.

Etymology

From pay + load. From the early 20th century.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apyload,palyoad,paylaod,paylload,payloadd,payloda,payolad,payyload,ppayload,pyaload

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for payload

Misspelling Variants of "payload"

apyload7palyoad7paylaod7paylload8payloadd8payloda7payolad7payyload8
Misspelling Variants of "payload"

Frequency rank: #18,153 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "payload"?
"payload" is spelled P-A-Y-L-O-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpeɪloʊd/.
What does "payload" mean?
As a noun, "payload" means: That part of a cargo that produces revenue.
What are common misspellings of "payload"?
Common misspellings include "apyload", "palyoad", "paylaod", "paylload", "payloadd". The correct spelling is "payload".
How do you pronounce "payload"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "payload" is /ˈpeɪloʊd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "payload"?
From pay + load. From the early 20th century. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.