Meaning & use
offload work
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
to give some of your tasks to another person so you have less to do
Grammar: Takes an object: offload work. Often followed by 'onto' or 'to' plus a person.
Patterns
- offload work onto someone
- offload work to someone
- offload some work
She offloaded some work onto her assistant.
It's not fair to offload your work onto the new intern.
He offloaded the boring parts of the job to a colleague.
verbtransitivedisapproving
to get rid of a responsibility or problem by passing it to someone else
Grammar: Can be used with abstract things like responsibility or blame, not just tasks.
Patterns
- offload responsibility onto someone
- offload something onto someone
The manager offloaded the blame onto his team.
Don't offload your problems onto me.
Word forms
| third person singular | offloads work |
|---|---|
| past tense | offloaded work |
| past participle | offloaded work |
| -ing form | offloading work |
Common combinations
- offload work onto someone
- He offloaded the paperwork onto me.
- offload work to someone
- She offloaded the design work to a freelancer.
- offload responsibility
- The director tried to offload responsibility for the mistake.
- offload tasks
- We need to offload some tasks before the deadline.
Synonyms and how they differ
- delegate
- More neutral and often positive: you give work to someone because they are suitable, not just to reduce your own load.
- dump
- Informal and strongly disapproving; it means to give someone work unfairly.
Opposites
Word family
- offload verb
- To remove a load or burden from yourself or a vehicle.
- offloading noun
- The act of passing work or goods to someone else.
Commonly confused: offload work or download?
offload work vs download
Download means to copy data from the internet; offload means to pass work to someone.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The usual pattern is 'offload something onto someone'. 'On' is not used with this verb; 'at' and 'for' do not fit the meaning of passing work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “offload work”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.