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Weight

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weight¹

  • /weɪt/

Sounds like wait · Rhymes with -eɪt

Where it comes from

From Middle English weight, weiȝte, weght, wight, from Old English wiht, ġewiht (“weight”), from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz ("weight"; compare *weganą (“to move”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move; pull; draw; drive”). Equivalent to weigh + -t (abstract nominal suffix).

Cognate with Scots wecht, weicht (“weight”), Saterland Frisian Wächte (“scale”), Gewicht (“weight”), West Frisian gewicht (“weight”), Dutch gewicht (“weight”), German Low German Wicht, Gewicht (“weight”), German Wucht (“massiveness, force”), Gewicht (“weight”).

noun weights · wt. · waight

  1. countable, uncountable The downwards force an object experiences due to gravity.
  2. countable, uncountable An object used to make something heavier.
  3. countable, uncountable A standardized block of metal used in a balance to measure the mass of another object.
  4. countable, figuratively, uncountable Importance or influence. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.
  5. countable, uncountable An object, such as a weight plate or barbell, used for strength training. He's working out with weights. Weight-bearing exercise is now understood to be just as important as cardio.
  6. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, sometimes, specifically, uncountable Ellipsis of free weight, as contrasted with the weights inside an exercise machine.free weight I prefer weights over machines.
  7. countable, uncountable Viscosity rating.
  8. countable, uncountable Mass (atomic weight, molecular weight, etc.) (in restricted circumstances).
  9. countable, proscribed, uncountable Synonym of mass (in general circumstances).
  10. countable, uncountable Mass (net weight, troy weight, carat weight, etc.). I'm the same weight as I was ten years ago.
  11. countable, uncountable A variable which multiplies a value for ease of statistical manipulation.
  12. countable, especially, uncountable Emphasis applied to a given criterion. Even though it's got its two features of color and hardness, it doesn't know how much importance or, as computer scientists say, weight to place on each of them.
  13. countable, uncountable The smallest cardinality of a base.
  14. countable, uncountable The boldness of a font; the relative thickness of its strokes. font weight
  15. countable, uncountable The relative thickness of a drawn rule or painted brushstroke, line weight.
  16. countable, uncountable The illusion of mass.
  17. countable, uncountable The thickness and opacity of paint.
  18. countable, uncountable The thickness of yarn. If you'd like to use a different weight of yarn, just check the label for the recommended crochet hook size and use that.
  19. countable, figuratively, uncountable Pressure; burden. the weight of care or business
  20. countable, uncountable The resistance against which a machine acts, as opposed to the power which moves it.
  21. slang, uncountable Shipments of (often illegal) drugs. He was pushing weight.
  22. countable, slang One pound of drugs, especially cannabis. [I was] doing a weight [1 lb. at that time] a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.
  23. countable, dated, uncountable Money. No matter how much money he makes, he is still a soldier, but he has the weight.
  24. countable, uncountable Weight class. You’re no match for ’em. You ain’t up to their weight. It’s like little Black Strap standing up to Tom Spring,—the Black’s a pretty fighter but, Law bless you, his arm ain’t long enough to touch Tom,—and I tell you, you’re going it with fellers beyond your weight.
  25. countable, uncountable Used as part of compound words for weight class titles, e.g. heavyweight, flyweight.

verb weights · weighting · weighted · waight

  1. transitive To add weight to something; to make something heavier.
  2. transitive To load (fabrics) with barite, etc. to increase the weight.
  3. transitive To load, burden or oppress someone.
  4. transitive To assign weights to individual statistics.
  5. transitive To bias something; to slant. The criteria governing the choice of candidate were heavily weighted in his favor.
  6. transitive To handicap a horse with a specified weight.
  7. transitive To give a certain amount of force to a throw, kick, hit, etc. With good peripheral vision he spots his teammate, Ray Evans, lurking in the scoring zone and sweeps a perfectly weighted pass to him.

Weight²

proper noun Weights

  1. A surname.

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