weight

noun

\ˈwāt

Definition of weight

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the amount that a thing weighs

b(1) : the standard or established amount that a thing should weigh

(2) : one of the classes into which contestants in a sports event are divided according to body weight

(3) : poundage required to be carried by a horse in a handicap race

2a : a quantity or thing weighing a fixed and usually specified amount

b : a heavy object (such as a metal ball) thrown, put, or lifted as an athletic exercise or contest

3a : a unit of weight or mass — see Metric System Table

b : a piece of material (such as metal) of known specified weight for use in weighing articles

c : a system of related units of weight

4a : something heavy : load

b : a heavy object to hold or press something down or to counterbalance

5a : burden, pressure the weight of their responsibilities

b : the quality or state of being ponderous

c : corpulence

6a : relative heaviness : mass

b : the force with which a body is attracted toward the earth or a celestial body by gravitation and which is equal to the product of the mass and the local gravitational acceleration

7a : the relative importance or authority accorded something the weight of her opinions

b : measurable influence especially on others throwing his weight behind the proposal

8 : overpowering force

9 : the quality (such as lightness) that makes a fabric or garment suitable for a particular use or season —often used in combination summer-weight

10 : a numerical coefficient assigned to an item to express its relative importance in a frequency distribution

11 : the degree of thickness of the strokes of a type character

weight

verb

weighted; weighting; weights

Definition of weight (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to oppress with a burden weighted down with cares

2a : to load or make heavy with or as if with a weight

b : to increase in heaviness by adding an ingredient

3a : weigh sense 1

b : to feel the weight of : heft

4 : to assign a statistical weight to

5 : to cause to incline in a particular direction by manipulation the tax structure … which was weighted so heavily in favor of the upper classes— A. S. Link

6 : to shift the burden of weight upon weight the inside ski

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about weight

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Choose the Right Synonym for weight

Noun

importance, consequence, moment, weight, significance mean a quality or aspect having great worth or significance. importance implies a value judgment of the superior worth or influence of something or someone. a region with no cities of importance consequence generally implies importance because of probable or possible effects. the style you choose is of little consequence moment implies conspicuous or self-evident consequence. a decision of great moment weight implies a judgment of the immediate relative importance of something. the argument carried no weight with the judge significance implies a quality or character that should mark a thing as important but that is not self-evident and may or may not be recognized. the treaty's significance

influence, authority, prestige, weight, credit mean power exerted over the minds or behavior of others. influence may apply to a force exercised and received consciously or unconsciously. used her influence to get the bill passed authority implies the power of winning devotion or allegiance or of compelling acceptance and belief. his opinions lacked authority prestige implies the ascendancy given by conspicuous excellence or reputation for superiority. the prestige of the newspaper weight implies measurable or decisive influence in determining acts or choices. their wishes obviously carried much weight credit suggests influence that arises from the confidence of others. his credit with the press

Examples of weight in a Sentence

Noun

Please indicate your height and weight on the form. Her weight is 105 pounds. The boat sank under the weight of the cargo. Those columns have to be strong enough to support the weight of the roof. He stays in good shape by lifting weights. I use pie weights to keep the pie crust from bubbling when I bake it.

Verb

I weighted the fishing line with a lead sinker. weighted the car with a ton of furniture and then headed off for college

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Big Boy also released the 2011 autobiography An XL Life: Staying Big at Half the Size, chronicling his life, radio career and dramatic weight loss. — Gail Mitchell, Billboard, "Fuse Media and iHeartMedia to Televise 'Big Boy's Neighborhood' Radio Show: Exclusive," 9 July 2018 The first is the weight of China in the foreign sales that American firms bring in. — The Economist, "America Inc and the rage against Beijing," 28 June 2018 In the affidavit, the roommate, also a football player, said Nagy had difficulty lifting weights and complained of shoulder troubles. — Clifford Ward, Wheaton Glen Ellyn, "Video could be key in Wheaton College football hazing case, attorney says. But does it exist?," 26 June 2018 The Town of Enfield Public Works Department offers residents the option of scheduling a bulky waste collection for items too large for regular weekly refuse collection (exceeding 60 pounds in weight or greater than 5 feet across). — Courant Community, "Community News For The Enfield Edition," 19 June 2018 In the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, almost half the weight of surface debris is fishing gear, according to a 2017 study by Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer with the Ocean Cleanup Foundation. — National Geographic, "These Communities Turn Discarded Fishing Nets Into Carpets," 13 June 2018 In 2015, he was widely criticized for his weight gain and a last-minute cancelation of a concert in Mérida, where thousands of fans awaited his performance at the arena. — Adam Williams, Billboard, "How a Netflix Series Revived the Career of Latin Pop Icon Luis Miguel," 10 July 2018 The more common Type 2 diabetes is linked with genetic predisposition but can also be associated with poor diet, a lack of exercise and weight gain. — NBC News, "Cheap blood pressure drug might slow diabetes," 9 July 2018 Izzy had been suspected to be pregnant for weeks due to recent weight gain. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "The National Zoo’s Golden Lion Tamarins Delight Curators with the Delivery of Twins," 3 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Each of the seven categories were weighted and data was taken from a variety of government and education sources to arrive at a score. — Don Reisinger, Fortune, "Here Are the Best (and Worst) States to Retire," 12 July 2018 Under the new map, which will be in place for the November midterm election, the new 5th Congressional District will be weighted heavily in favor of Democrats. — Eliza Collins, USA TODAY, "Rep. Patrick Meehan resigns, will pay back $39,000 settlement of sexual harassment case," 27 Apr. 2018 The company ranks third and accounts for roughly 8% of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which is weighted by market value. — Charley Grant, WSJ, "Fear of Missing Out Drives Stock Performance," 13 July 2018 Also, the mentions are weighted by influence, so those with more impressions and interactions have a greater effect on the score. — Pete Keeley, The Hollywood Reporter, "E3: Nintendo, Capcom Top Social Media Rankings," 19 June 2018 Tuesday's vote was 60 percent to 39 percent under Metropolitan's voting system, which is weighted by property values. — Dale Kasler, sacbee, "Southern California water agency agrees to spend $11 billion on Delta tunnels - again," 10 July 2018 The benchmark, which is weighted to account for differences in home type, climbed 0.7 percent from last month to C$766,300 ($595,700). — Natalie Wong, Bloomberg.com, "Toronto Home Sales Off to Weakest Start Since 2009 Recession," 3 May 2018 That’s less than 3 percent of the 1,737 second-graders admitted through the appeals process, further skewing a program already heavily weighted toward whites and Asians. — Matthew Barakat, The Seattle Times, "School system’s appeals process leaves some minorities out," 3 Feb. 2018 Assuming no sci-fi power source is involved, the batteries to power such a weapon would need to weight four or five times more than the entire gun's reported three kilogram weight. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Everything Suspicious About China's Laser Rifle Claims," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'weight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.