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weight definition

weight (wāt)

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
  5. 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
  7. importance or consequence a matter of great weight
  8. influence, power, or authority to throw one's weight to the losing side
  9. 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. 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
  12. Statistics a constant assigned to a single item in a frequency distribution, indicative of the item's relative importance

Etymology: 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
weight Idioms

by weight

as determined by weighing

carry weight

to be important, influential, etc.

pull one's weight

to do one's share

throw one's weight around

to take undue advantage of one's authority or rank; be overbearing

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business weight definition - business

idioms weight idiom

medical weight definition - medical

weight Synonyms

weight

n.

  1. Heaviness

    pressure, load, gross weight, net weight, dead weight, molecular weight, gravity, heft, burden, mass, density, adiposity, ponderousness, tonnage, ballast, substance, G-factor*; see also measurement 2, pressure 1.

    Antonyms lightness*, buoyancy*, airiness. *

    Common weights include: dram, grain, ounce, pound, stone (British), hundredweight, ton, long ton, gram, kilogram, centigram, kilo, gram molecule, milligram, metric ton, metric carat, carat (grain), mole, tonneau, denier, assay ton, quintal, scruple.

  2. An object used for its weight

    counterbalance, counterweight, counterpoise, ballast, paperweight, stone, rock, leadweight, sinker, anchor, plumb, sandbag.

  3. Importance

    influence, authority, sway; see importance 1, power 2. See syn. study at importance, influence.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

weight Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • lose: Mom of four Kerry loved the online plan She lost weight just in time to go on holiday with her family.

Adjective modifier

  • molecular: Typically, the molecular weight is measured using static light scattering.

Modifies a noun

  • loss: To achieve weight loss, we have to use more energy than we take in.

Noun used with modifier

  • birth: Low protein diets during early pregnancy in rats were found to significantly reduce birth weight of pups.

Preposition: in

  • kilogram: For a metric rough guide divide your weight in kilograms by 32.6 to give liters required per day.

Preposition: of

  • kg: Differential bone growth between large and small breeds of cattle is usually established prior to a slaughter weight of 500 kg in males.
weight usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

weight quotes

A false balance is abomination to the L: but a just weight is his delight.

-Bible (Old Testament)

   Neville Chamberlain had greatness thrust upon himöand in trying to prove he could bear it, collapsed under the weight.

-Cannadine, David

It often happens that a man of considerable eminence in his own profession, but without the smallest acquaintance with the fundamentals of economics, will make a suggestion which is precisely on a level with the proposition that the locomotive would be much more efficient if itsweight weretakenoffthe driving wheelsso that they could revolve more easily. The editor of an important magazineacceptswithjoy the contributionin whichhedevelopshisideas, and thepublic feebly thinks that there may be something in it, and is confirmed in this view by the fact that professional economists are as disinclined to publisha refutationof it asthe Astronomer Royal is to answer the theorists who declare that the world is flat.

-Cannan, Edwin

weight quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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