负荷 is a noun that primarily refers to a load — either electrical (the power drawn by a device or circuit) or abstract (the burden of work, responsibility, or mental pressure). The character 负 means 'to bear' and 荷 means 'to carry on one's back', so the literal idea is 'something carried'. In modern Chinese it is almost always used as a noun; the verb usage ('to bear') is rare and literary. You will encounter it in technical contexts (电力负荷 'electrical load') and in everyday language (工作负荷 'workload').