What is a loaded firearm?

Answer 1

A firearm that has ammunition loaded into it.

IMPROVING ANSWER: If you say "a gun is loaded when there is ammo inside it" you are using common sense. If you are asking the question about gun safety and safe gun handling, that's totally accurate. An "unloaded" gun means one that is fully unloaded-- no ammo in any part of it, even the magazine.

But from a legal standpoint, if you are carrying a gun in a way that is only legal if the gun is not loaded, watch out for what your state's legal definition of a "loaded" gun is. Not all state and local laws are written with common sense.

Sometimes, in some jurisdictions, the law might use the phrase "loaded firearm" to mean a gun that is NOT actually loaded, but for which there is ammunition within easy reach, if the gun and the ammo are not in cases or boxes. And in some jurisdictions, a gun that has rounds in the magazine but none in the chamber might or might not be "loaded" in the eyes of the law. So really, it depends on what state you're in and what the circumstances are.