deadweight

noun

dead·​weight ˈded-ˈwāt 

1

: the unrelieved weight of an inert mass

2

: dead load

3

: a ship's load including the total weight of cargo, fuel, stores, crew, and passengers

Examples of deadweight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Chinese shipyards accounted for 65% of global shipbuilding orders by deadweight tonnage during the first nine months of 2025, down from about 75% a year earlier, according to data from shipping services firm Clarksons cited by the South China Morning Post. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Dec. 2025

The university that once promised to buoy scientific aspirations now feels like a deadweight. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025

Next comes some fancy piloting, the detachment of the thrusters, and then the scavenger ship is effectively so much deadweight in space, at least for now. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025

That was the point where Sunderland began to fall off the Premier League cliff-edge, and Ndong was a deadweight to hasten their demise. —The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 17 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing deadweight

• deadweight ton

Rhymes for deadweight

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

deadweight

noun

dead·​weight ˈded-ˈwāt 

: the full weight of a mass that is not moving