handloading

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noun

The loading of cartridges for firearms when it is done by hand and (especially) at home (in semi-homemade manner): assembling them from the individual components (e.g., casing, primer, gunpowder or other charge, and shot or bullet).

“With handloading of their practice rounds, they can save money, especially in light of how expensive the store-bought cartridges can be these days.”

Opposite
autoloading
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounhandloading (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe loading of cartridges for firearms when it is done by hand and (especially) at home (in semi-homemade manner): assembling them from the individual components (e.g., casing, primer, gunpowder or other charge, and shot or bullet).

    With handloading of their practice rounds, they can save money, especially in light of how expensive the store-bought cartridges can be these days.

  2. uncountableThe loading of a firearm, usually a pistol or rifle, by hand.

    Antonyms: autoloading

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of handload

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe loading of a firearm, usually a pistol or rifle, by hand.

Opposite
autoloading

Origin

By surface analysis, hand + loading. The verb (handload) is possibly a back-formation from the noun.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

handloading. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handloading

MLA

“handloading.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handloading. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handloading,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handloading.

Source: handloading on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.