Definition of 'weight'

Word Frequency

weight

(weɪt )

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense weights , present participle weighting , past tense, past participle weighted

1. variable noun [oft with poss]

The weight of a person or thing is how heavy they are, measured in units such as kilograms, pounds, or tons.

What is your height and weight?

This reduced the weight of the load.

Turkeys can reach enormous weights of up to 50 pounds. [+ of]

See lose weight, gain/put on weight

2. uncountable noun [with poss]

A person's or thing's weight is the fact that they are very heavy.

His weight was harming his health.

Despite the vehicle's size and weight, it is not difficult to drive.

3. singular noun

If you move your weight, you change position so that most of the pressure of your body is on a particular part of your body.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

He kept the weight from his left leg.

4. countable noun [usually plural]

Weights are objects which weigh a known amount and which people lift as a form of exercise.

I was in the gym lifting weights.

5. countable noun

Weights are metal objects which weigh a known amount and which are used on a set of scales to weigh other things.

6. countable noun

You can refer to a heavy object as a weight, especially when you have to lift it.

Straining to lift heavy weights can lead to a rise in blood pressure.

Synonyms: load [informal], mass, ballast, heavy object More Synonyms of weight

7. verb

If you weight something, you make it heavier by adding something to it, for example in order to stop it from moving easily.

It can be sewn into curtain hems to weight the curtain and so allow it to hang better. [VERB noun]

8. verb

If you weight things, you give them different values according to how important or significant they are.

...a computer program which weights the different transitions according to their likelihood. [VERB noun]

Responses were weighted by region to more accurately reflect the population. . [VERB-ed]

9. variable noun

If something is given a particular weight, it is given a particular value according to how important or significant it is.

The scientists involved put different weight on the conclusions of different models. [+ on]

We had this understanding that courses were roughly the same weight.

10. uncountable noun [the NOUN of noun]

If you talk about the weight of something, you mean that it is large in amount or has great power, which means that it is difficult to oppose or fight against.

The weight of expectation was getting to them.

Companies found themselves collapsing under the weight of debts.

11. uncountable noun

If someone or something gives weight to what a person says, thinks, or does, they emphasize its significance.

The fact that he is gone has given more weight to fears that he may try to launch a civil war.

Do you think, perhaps, that what happened today might lend weight to that criticism?

Synonyms: preponderance, mass, bulk, main body More Synonyms of weight

12. uncountable noun

If you give something or someone weight, you consider them to be very important or influential in a particular situation.

This might have been avoided had ministers placed more weight on scientific advice. [+ on]

...the overwhelming weight Freud assigned parents in our development.

13. singular noun

If you feel a weight on you, you have a problem or a responsibility that is difficult for you to manage and that you are very worried about.

The relief was indescribable. A great weight lifted from me.

14. See also dead weight, weighting

15.

See to carry weight

16.

See worth your weight in gold

17.

See to pull your weight

18.

See to throw your weight about

19.

See throw one's weight behind

20. a weight off your mind

Phrasal verbs:

See weight down

More Synonyms of weight

Video: pronunciation of
weight

weight in British English

(weɪt )

noun

a measure of the heaviness of an object; the amount anything weighs

2. physics

the vertical force experienced by a mass as a result of gravitation. It equals the mass of the body multiplied by the acceleration of free fall. Its units are units of force (such as newtons or poundals) but it is often given as a mass unit ( kilogram or pound)

Symbol: W

a system of units used to express the weight of a substance

troy weight

a unit used to measure weight

the kilogram is the weight used in the metric system

any mass or heavy object used to exert pressure or weigh down

an oppressive force

the weight of cares

any heavy load

the bag was such a weight

the main or greatest force: preponderance

the weight of evidence

importance, influence, or consequence

his opinion carries weight

10. statistics

one of a set of coefficients assigned to items of a frequency distribution that are analysed in order to represent the relative importance of the different items

11. printing

the apparent blackness of a printed typeface

12. slang

a pound of a drug, esp cannabis

13. pull one's weight

14. throw one's weight around

verb (transitive)

15.

to add weight to

16.

to burden or oppress

17.

to add importance, value, etc, to one side rather than another; bias; favour

a law weighted towards landlords

18. statistics

to attach a weight or weights to

19.

to make (fabric, threads, etc) heavier by treating with mineral substances, etc

Derived forms

weighter (ˈweighter)

noun

Word origin

Old English wiht; related to Old Frisian, Middle Dutch wicht, Old Norse vētt, German Gewicht

Word Frequency

weight in American English

(weɪt )

noun

a portion or quantity weighing a definite or specified amount

ten pounds weight of lead

heaviness as a quality of things

b. Physics

the force of gravity acting on a body, equal to the mass of the body multiplied by the acceleration of gravity

quantity or amount of heaviness; how much a thing weighs

the amount a specified thing should weigh

any unit of heaviness or mass

any system of such units

troy weight, avoirdupois weight

a piece, as of metal, of a specific standard heaviness, used on a balance or scale in weighing

any block or mass of material used for its heaviness

; specif.,

one used to hold light things down or in position

a paperweight

one used to drive a mechanism

the weights in a clock

one used to maintain balance

weights placed on an automobile wheel

one of a particular heaviness, lifted as an athletic exercise

any heavy thing or load

a burden or oppressiveness, as of responsibility or sorrow

importance or consequence

a matter of great weight

influence, power, or authority

to throw one's weight to the losing side

the relative thickness or heaviness of a fabric or an article of clothing as proper to a particular season, use, etc.

a suit of summer weight

10. Printing

the relative thickness of the lines in type fonts

11. Sport

any of the several classifications into which boxers and wrestlers are placed according to how much they weigh

the number of pounds a horse is required to carry for a particular race, including the weight of the jockey, the saddle, and, often, added lead weights

12. Statistics

a constant assigned to a single item in a frequency distribution, indicative of the item's relative importance

verb transitive

13.

to add weight to; make heavy or heavier

14.

to burden; load down; oppress

15.

to treat (thread or fabric) with a solution of metallic salts, in order to increase its weight

16.

to manage, control, or influence in a particular direction or so as to favor a particular side; slant

the evidence was weighted against the defendant

17. Statistics

to assign a weight to in a frequency distribution

SIMILAR WORDS: imˈportance, ˈinfluence

Idioms:

by weight

carry weight

pull one's weight

throw one's weight around

Word origin

ME weiht, altered (infl. by weien, weigh1) < OE wiht < wegan: see weigh1

Example sentences including
weight

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

She has shed more than half her body weight and is glowing with health and happiness.Light or heavy weights for strength gains?She says that he bullied her about her weight.The handicapper could easily have given her more weight.But it has a nice chunky appearance and it feels like the weight of quality. Great weight had to be attached to the nature of the offences involved.The best way to lose weight is to make a lifestyle change.The weights favour my fancy and this track should suit her better.To move, transfer the weight from one foot to the other.Ed suffers under weight of expectation Isn't public life unfair?