disburden

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to free a person, animal, or thing from a physical load; to unload

   The crew disburdened the pack animals before crossing the river.

2. 2
   verb

   to relieve someone or oneself of a worry, duty, cost, or other figurative burden

   The reform would disburden small firms of unnecessary reporting costs.

Formed in English from dis-, expressing removal, + burden. It has denoted both unloading a physical weight and freeing someone from an expense, duty, or mental trouble since the sixteenth century.

Topics