weight

noun \ ˈwāt \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

Definition of weight

1 a : 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

2 a : 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

3 a : 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

4 a : something heavy : load

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

5 a : burden, pressure

the weight of their responsibilities

b : the quality or state of being ponderous

c : corpulence

6 a : 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

7 a : 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

Weights and Measures Table

See weight defined for English-language learners

See weight defined for kids

Examples of weight in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of weight from the Web

In addition to gaining weight, Wozniak said the biggest challenges thus far have been adjusting to the footwork and technique of playing tackle.

— josh katzenstein, NOLA.com, "Saints hoping 6-foot-10 Nate Wozniak can make smooth transition to offensive tackle," 15 May 2018
Anderson shifted to his left to field Nick Markakis’ single on three hops, looping around the ball to put his weight behind a throw to third base.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Brian Anderson shows off arm strength with rocket to third base on Saturday night," 13 May 2018
According to the Associated Press, his weight had ballooned to 350 pounds before he was inspired to make a comeback.

— nina mandell, For The Win, "See Tyson Fury's incredible transformation ahead of his comeback fight," 11 May 2018
As far as finding a sail that reflects as much light as possible while staying low in mass, the scientists recommended sails with hexagonal lattices of holes to reduce their weight.

— charles q. choi, Scientific American, "Building Sails for Interstellar Probes Will Be Tough, But Not Impossible," 10 May 2018
In an online sale which ended Wednesday morning, the Rockefeller name proved, time and again, to be worth more than its weight in gold.

— Fortune, "A Single Set of Rockefeller Porcelain Just Sold for $1.8 Million at Auction," 9 May 2018
Just looking at a picture of a skinny model on the cover of Glamour or Elle makes many women feel bad about their own weight.

— roni dengler, Science | AAAS, "Does looking at skinny models make you feel bad? Science says you’re not alone," 8 May 2018
Theron, who gained weight for the role, helps redeem the film’s fuzzier aspects.

— peter rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "‘Tully’ gives the Mary Poppins story an unsentimental update," 4 May 2018
That is because Denmark uses Greenland to punch above its weight, notes Mr Rahbek-Clemmensen.

— The Economist, "Chinese investment may help Greenland become independent from Denmark," 3 May 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.

Origin and Etymology of weight

Middle English wight, weght, from Old English wiht; akin to Old Norse vætt weight, Old English wegan to weigh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

weight Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of weight

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.