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busload

busload

23 2.3
A group of people that a bus carries
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌsloʊd/
translation icon : autobús lleno
  • We had a busload of old folks on a wine tour.

So now you have busloads of immigrants that are just being dumped in, you know, New York, Houston, San Antonio, San Diego, they just dump them out there.

Examples

  • Here comes another busload of tourists!

  • Young people, by busloads, will go to Chicago to show our solidarity and our disgust.

  • Just me and a busload of kids.

  • There's a busload of people coming.

  • She's bringing them in by the busload.

  • Then he watches another busload of tourists drive through the gate at 56 Hope Road.

    Academic text (1995)
  • But everyone loves the movies, so Hollywood is everyone's town, and they come here by the busload.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The fiancée was her friend, too, poor thing, off in Vienna with a busload of Newcomb girls.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Shakespearean productions have not been slighted, with a busload of thirty-five girls attending a performance of Twelfth Night at Princeton University.

    Academic text (1995)
  • We had a busload of tourists visiting the museum today.

Synonyms

load
vsbusload
278 1.1

An amount of things carried at one time, like cargo on a vehicle

is specifically used for the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle
truckload
vsbusload
  • US
45 2.9

A very large amount about as much as fills a truck

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
planeload
vsbusload
4 3.8

The number of people or things on one plane trip

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
boatload
vsbusload
4 3.6

The amount of people or goods a ship can carry

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
shipload
vsbusload
3 2.5

A large amount of goods carried by a ship

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
trainload
vsbusload
2 3.2

A large amount of goods that one train can carry

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
cartload
vsbusload
  • Informal
2 3.5

An amount that fills a cart, often meaning a very large quantity

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
vanload
vsbusload
1 3.4

An amount of goods that fills a van

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip
wagonload
vsbusload
1 3.0

An amount that fills a wagon

refers to the amount that fills a single road passenger vehicle in one trip

How Many

busload
23 2.3
passenger
975 1.0

Surface Forms

busload singular
busloads plural

Morphology

busload = bus + load (transparent) = bus + load

The meaning is directly the combination of 'bus' and 'load' (the amount a bus carries), which B1 learners can readily infer.

Etymology

The word busload is made of bus and load: bus comes from the old word omnibus meaning 'for all', and load means the 'amount' or 'things' carried. So a busload is the number of people or the amount of cargo a bus can carry at one time.