Definition of "carrying capacity" [carrying capacity]

• The maximum number of persons or things that a vehicle or a receptacle can carry: a van with a carrying capacity of 12. (noun)
• Ecology The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can support without detrimental effects. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Killeen ordered some fresh squads to inspect the storage bay and estimate the carrying capacity of the Flitters."
• "Later on, and after better acquaintance, few objected to having the carrying capacity of those locomotors reduced to three or even two blue coats."
• "The carrying capacity of long distance networks in the United States is slated for an estimated eightyfold increase over the five years ending in 2001."