Word.ws English Dictionary

preload

preload verb: to load in advance (used especially in reference to software installed on a computer prior to sale).

Verb

preload (third-person singular simple present preloads, present participle preloading, simple past and past participle preloaded)

  1. (transitive) To load in advance (used especially in reference to software installed on a computer prior to sale).
    • My computer came preloaded with wordprocessor software.
    Synonyms:
    foreload, preinstall
  2. (UK, intransitive, slang) To drink (cheaper) alcohol at home before going out socially.
    • That nightclub is so expensive. Let's preload at your flat.
    Synonyms:
    pregame, pre-drink

Noun

preload (countable and uncountable, plural preloads)

  1. The end diastolic pressure that stretches the right or left ventricle of the heart to its greatest geometric dimensions under variable physiologic demand.
  2. The internal application of stress to certain mechanical systems.
    • The preload itself should be tightened gradually. Many older threadless headsets suspend their preload bolts within soft plastic caps; they sink right through easily enough.2008, Sam Tracy, Roadside Bicycle Repair, Fulcrum Publishing, →ISBN, page 55

Synonyms of preload

Forms of preload

Verb
third-person singular presentpreloads
present participlepreloading
past participlepreloaded
pastpreloaded
Noun
pluralpreloads

Past tense of preload: preloaded

Origin of preload

From pre- + load.

Words formed from preload

Questions about preload

What does preload mean?
Preload means to load in advance (used especially in reference to software installed on a computer prior to sale).
What part of speech is preload?
Preload can be a verb or a noun.
What is the past tense of preload?
The past tense of preload is preloaded.

Words near preload in the dictionary

  1. preliving
  2. Prell
  3. Prells
  4. Prellwitz
  5. Prellwitzes
  6. preload
  7. preloadable
  8. preloaded
  9. preloader
  10. preloaders
  11. preloading

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: preload (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-preload.ogg.

Cite this entry: “preload.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/preload. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.