It is the average number of processes waiting in queue to be executed by the CPU over the specified period of time.
First off, there are three load averages. From left to right there is, 1 minute load average, 5 minutes load average and 15 minutes load average.

eg:- load average: 1.10, 1.06, 1.07
jibinthomas Reviewed by jibinthomas on . Explaining load average in linux It is the average number of processes waiting in queue to be executed by the CPU over the specified period of time. First off, there are three load averages. From left to right there is, 1 minute load average, 5 minutes load average and 15 minutes load average. eg:- load average: 1.10, 1.06, 1.07 Rating: 5