weight

Weight is how heavy something is or how much mass it has.

(noun)

An example of weight is when a person is 100 pounds.

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See weight in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. a portion or quantity weighing a definite or specified amount: ten pounds weight of lead
    1. heaviness as a quality of things
    2. Physics the force of gravity acting on a body, equal to the mass of the body multiplied by the acceleration of gravity
    1. quantity or amount of heaviness; how much a thing weighs
    2. the amount a specified thing should weigh
    1. any unit of heaviness or mass
    2. any system of such units: troy weight, avoirdupois weight
    3. a piece, as of metal, of a specific standard heaviness, used on a balance or scale in weighing
  2. any block or mass of material used for its heaviness; specif.,
    1. one used to hold light things down or in position: a paperweight
    2. one used to drive a mechanism: the weights in a clock
    3. one used to maintain balance: weights placed on an automobile wheel
    4. one of a particular heaviness, lifted as an athletic exercise
    1. any heavy thing or load
    2. a burden or oppressiveness, as of responsibility or sorrow
  3. importance or consequence: a matter of great weight
  4. influence, power, or authority: to throw one's weight to the losing side
  5. 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
  6. Printing the relative thickness of the lines in type fonts
  7. Sports
    1. any of the several classifications into which boxers and wrestlers are placed according to how much they weigh
    2. 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
  8. Statistics a constant assigned to a single item in a frequency distribution, indicative of the item's relative importance

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

transitive verb

  1. to add weight to; make heavy or heavier
  2. to burden; load down; oppress
  3. to treat (thread or fabric) with a solution of metallic salts, in order to increase its weight
  4. 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
  5. Statistics to assign a weight to in a frequency distribution

See weight in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun Abbr. wt. or w
  1. A measure of the heaviness of an object.
  2. The force with which a body is attracted to Earth or another celestial body, equal to the product of the object's mass and the acceleration of gravity.
  3. a. A unit measure of gravitational force: a table of weights and measures.
    b. A system of such measures: avoirdupois weight; troy weight.
  4. The measured heaviness of a specific object: a two-pound weight.
  5. An object used principally to exert a force by virtue of its gravitational attraction to Earth, especially:
    a. A metallic solid used as a standard of comparison in weighing.
    b. An object used to hold something else down.
    c. A counterbalance in a machine.
    d. Sports A heavy object, such as a dumbbell, lifted for exercise or in athletic competition.
  6. Excessive fat; corpulence: exercising in order to lose weight.
  7. Statistics A factor assigned to a number in a computation, as in determining an average, to make the number's effect on the computation reflect its importance.
  8. Oppressiveness; pressure: the weight of responsibilities.
  9. The greater part; preponderance: The weight of the evidence is against the defendant.
  10. a. Influence, importance, or authority: Her approval carried great weight. See Synonyms at importance.
    b. Ponderous quality: the weight of the speaker's words.
  11. Sports A classification according to comparative lightness or heaviness. Often used in combination: a heavyweight boxer.
  12. The heaviness or thickness of a fabric in relation to a particular season or use. Often used in combination: a summerweight jacket.
transitive verb weight·ed, weight·ing, weights
  1. To add to, by or as if by attaching a weight; make heavy or heavier.
  2. To load down, burden, or oppress.
  3. To increase the weight or body of (fabrics) by treating with chemicals.
  4. Statistics To assign weights or a weight to.
  5. To cause to have a slant or bias: weighted the rules in favor of homeowners.
  6. Sports To assign to (a horse) the weight it must carry as a handicap in a race.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English wight

Origin: , from Old English wiht; see wegh- in Indo-European roots

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