An exit load is a small penalty fee charged by a mutual fund if you redeem, or withdraw, your units before a specified minimum holding period has passed. It's designed to discourage investors from jumping in and out of a fund too quickly, which can disrupt the fund manager's strategy and increase costs for everyone else invested in the same fund.
A common example is a 1% exit load if you redeem within one year of investing — so if you withdraw ₹1,00,000 worth of units within that window, you'd receive ₹99,000 after the load is deducted. Most equity mutual funds either charge no exit load after one year, or none at all for a small percentage of units redeemed early. Always check a fund's exit load structure before investing if you think you might need the money soon.