caseload

IPA/ˈkeɪsləʊd/
KK[kˈeslˌod]IPA/ˈkeɪsləʊd/

caseload — noun

1. the full set of clients or formal matters that one professional, team, or office

1.nounC1
Definition

the full set of clients or formal matters that one professional, team, or office is responsible for during a certain period.

Example

After the flood, Adaeze's caseload doubled as more families asked for housing help.

caseload + double after a crisis

The public defender carried a caseload of eighty clients before the new hires arrived.

carry a caseload of [number] clients

Common collocations
  • heavy caseload
  • manageable caseload
  • growing caseload
  • carry a caseload of fifty clients
  • reduce someone's caseload
  • manage a large caseload
Synonyms
  • workload

    broader term for all duties; caseload focuses on assigned cases or clients

  • docket

    mainly a court's official list of cases, not one worker's personal responsibility

  • backlog

    unfinished cases waiting to be handled, often because work has piled up

  • client list

    just the names of clients; it does not always imply pressure or active case responsibility

Grammar Patterns

heavy / light / manageable caseload

carry / manage / reduce a caseload

a caseload of + number + clients / cases

Usage Note

Common with verbs such as carry, manage, reduce, and with adjectives like heavy, growing, or manageable. It is used when the work is organized as individual cases or clients, not for a general amount of work such as email, meetings, or cleaning.

Common Mistakes

I have many caseloads this month.
I have a heavy caseload this month.
Usually one overall caseload is described by size, not counted in the plural for one person and period.
The therapist's workload is thirty families.
The therapist's caseload is thirty families.
Use caseload when counting assigned clients or cases, not general tasks.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Caseload refers to the total number of clients or formal matters assigned to one professional or office. Workload is broader and also includes tasks such as meetings, reports, and email. Docket is mainly used for courts and names the cases listed or scheduled there, rather than a therapist's or social worker's personal responsibility. Backlog means cases that are still waiting because work has fallen behind. Client list simply names who someone serves and may not suggest pressure or active files. Compare: The clinic reduced each counsellor's caseload to twenty families, but the counsellors still had a heavy paperwork workload. A lawyer may also have a long client list but only a small active caseload.

workload ↗docketbacklog ↗client list

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a heavy caseload
  • a growing caseload
  • a manageable caseload
  • a reduced caseload

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchOld EnglishEnglish

Caseload is a modern compound of case and load. Case came into English through French from Latin roots referring to an event or legal matter, while load comes from Old English and originally meant something carried as a burden. The compound developed in professional settings such as law, medicine, and social work to describe how many clients or matters one person is responsible for.

First known use

1923

1923, in the meaning defined above