Caricare

Caricare is a versatile Italian verb with several related meanings, primarily tied to the notions of placing weight or energy onto something, and extending metaphorically to information and responsibility. It is a regular -are verb and appears in physical, technical, and figurative contexts.

In its most concrete sense, caricare means to load or to put items onto or into a container, vehicle, or surface. Examples include caricare la valigia sul treno (to load the suitcase onto the train) and caricare la merce sul camion (to load the goods onto the truck). It can also refer to loading an object with passengers or equipment, and to arming a weapon, as in caricare una pistola (to load a pistol).

A related sense is to charge, in the sense of supplying energy to a device. This use is common with batteries and electronic equipment. Examples are caricare la batteria del telefono (to charge the phone’s battery) and caricare un dispositivo (to charge a device). In digital contexts, caricare can also mean to upload or transfer data to a server or online platform, as in caricare un file sul server or caricare una foto su un social network (to upload a file to the server or a photo to a social network).

Figuratively, caricare is used to express burdens or assignments. One can dire that someone è stato caricato di lavoro (they’ve been loaded with work) or that someone è stato caricato di accuse (they’ve been loaded with accusations). It can also mean to place responsibility or blame on someone.

Conjugation and forms: caricare follows regular -are verb patterns. Present: io carico, tu carichi, lui/lei carica, noi carichiamo, voi caricate, loro caricano. Other tenses use the standard -are endings; past participle is caricato. Gerund is caricando.