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. 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

Almased optimizes the metabolism, helps with weight loss, and improves energy over the whole day. — Woman's Day, "It’s Possible – Boost Your Metabolism!," 12 Mar. 2019 The Enquirer set out to gather damaging information about the 70-year-old, who is known for aerobic instruction and promoting weight-loss programs, people familiar with the matter said. — Lukas I. Alpert, WSJ, "From Bezos to Dr. Phil, the Enquirer Turns to Bare Knuckle Tactics," 15 Feb. 2019 Maybe there is a healthy weight loss program at low- or no-cost through her school? — Carolyn Hax, The Seattle Times, "A younger sister who is longing to be healthier," 5 Feb. 2019 Some influencers also get paid to promote dangerous weight loss products that promote unhealthy behaviors and unrealistic body standards. — Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Instagram Plans to Strengthen Ban on Pro-Eating Disorder Content," 12 Dec. 2018 The Greenland Ice Sheet’s unhealthy and rapid weight loss—and contribution to sea-level rise—occurs by a handful of mechanisms. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "Greenland’s melting snow makes new hockey stick (graph)," 9 Dec. 2018 Jenna Jameson opened up about the ongoing struggles from her nearly 60-pound weight loss. — Fox News, "Jenna Jameson opens up about battle with loose skin after losing 60 lbs," 28 Sep. 2018 The researchers didn’t report which weight-loss methods worked best. — Karen Kaplan, latimes.com, "If you're an adult in America, there's about a 50-50 chance you've been on a diet in the past year," 12 July 2018 For just under $25, the Fantom doorstop can reportedly be used on any floor surface, including (but not limited to) hardwood, carpet, tile, concrete, and laminate and can stop doors of any weight. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Fantom's Magnetic Doorstop Is the Coolest Way to Prop Open Your Door," 1 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Using the Kensington SD7000: Sturdy and useful Though the Surface Pro is a mobile device, the SD7000 decidedly isn’t: At 7.28 pounds, the SD7000 is weighted to hold the Surface Pro firmly. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Hands on: The Kensington SD7000 dock turns a Surface tablet into a Surface Studio," 21 Jan. 2019 The fee was weighted towards recovering our investment, rather than being in line with Eskom’s situation. — Michael Forsythe, New York Times, "McKinsey Ends Work With ICE Amid Furor Over Immigration Policy," 9 July 2018 The coaches’ rankings were then weighted against each team’s overall record and strength of schedule to determine the seedings. — Nate Weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, "MIAA boys’ lacrosse tournament brackets," 2 June 2018 Revenue from farm and turf equipment rose 10% during the company’s fiscal first quarter, but the company said sales were weighted toward smaller, lower-margin equipment. — Bob Tita, WSJ, "Deere Says Trade Tensions Holding Down Sales," 15 Feb. 2019 Our poll reached 1,000 Americans, and the results were weighted by race, age, gender, education, and 2016 presidential vote to enhance their representativeness. — Dylan Matthews, Vox, "Exclusive: We re-ran polls from 1991 about Anita Hill, this time about Christine Blasey Ford," 4 Oct. 2018 In fact, in several benchmarks, the GS75 Stealth is faster than laptops that weight 50 percent more and feature much hotter and power-hungry graphics cards inside. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Why you should or shouldn't buy a GeForce RTX laptop," 29 Jan. 2019 That’s because indexes are weighted by the market size of companies, so the most valuable ones make up the biggest proportions of indexes and the index funds that track them. — Stan Choe, The Seattle Times, "40 years after his “folly,” Bogle’s index funds reign," 23 Jan. 2019 Pelosi lives in San Francisco but rarely weights into state legislative issues. — Washington Post, "California lawmaker attacked over net neutrality decision," 24 June 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.