avoirdupois

1 of 2

noun

av·oir·du·pois ˌa-vər-də-ˈpȯiz

ˈa-vər-də-ˌpȯiz

Synonyms of avoirdupois next

: avoirdupois weight

: weight, heaviness

especially : personal weight

avoirdupois

2 of 2

adjective

: expressed in avoirdupois weight

one ounce avoirdupois

Did you know?

When "avoirdupois" first appeared in English in the 15th century, it carried a meaning of "goods sold by weight," which is also the meaning of its Middle English predecessor, "avoir de pois." That term derives from an Anglo-French phrase meaning "goods of weight." Today, "avoirdupois" most commonly refers to the system of weight measurement used for general merchandise, in which the pound is equal to 16 ounces, the ounce 16 drams, and the dram 27.344 grains. (Some other weight systems are apothecaries' weight, used to measure pharmaceutical items, and troy weight, used for precious metals.) It was Shakespeare, in his play Henry IV (1597), who first used "avoirdupois" to mean "heaviness."

Examples of avoirdupois in a Sentence

Noun the coach limited his recruiting to linebackers of a certain avoirdupois told his patient that he had to do something about his unhealthy avoirdupois and that exercising would be a good start

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

To make the most of the full fury of its hot-cam performance, the Integra was trimmed of 140 pounds of not-so-necessary avoirdupois. —

Barry Winfield, Car and Driver, 21 May 2020 McCormick was a member of the Jolly Fat Men’s Club, a fraternal group that celebrated avoirdupois. —

John Kelly, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avoirdupois.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.