weight

1 of 2

noun

ˈwāt 

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

weight

2 of 2

verb

weighted; weighting; weights

transitive verb

1

: to oppress with a burden

weighted down with cares

2

a

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

b

: to increase in heaviness by adding an ingredient

3

a

: 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

Noun

• avoirdupois
• heaviness
• heft

Verb

• burden
• encumber
• freight
• lade
• laden
• load
• lumber
• saddle

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

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

But the procession carried even more weight this year. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025

By 2016, President Obama put his weight behind the movement with the Computer Science for All initiative. —James V. Shuls, National Review, 20 Apr. 2025

Verb

In my experience as an independent financial advisor, one of my clients initially favored aggressive strategies heavily weighted in U.S. technology stocks before the pandemic. —Gianluca Sidoti, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

The sample of respondents was weighted to be representative of U.S. Census data. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing weight

• atomic weight
• avoirdupois weight
• a weight off one's mind/shoulders
• bend under one's own weight
• carry more weight
• carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders
• carry weight
• curb weight
• equivalent weight
• formula weight
• gain weight
• gram-atomic weight
• gram molecular weight
• keep (weight) off
• lend weight/credence/credibility
• lose (some) weight
• molecular weight
• pull one's own weight
• pull one's weight
• put/throw one's weight/influence behind
• short weight
• take a load/weight off someone's mind
• throw one's weight about
• throw one's weight around
• throw weight
• troy weight
• watch one's weight
• weight-bearing
• weight lifter
• weight machine
• weight man
• weight of numbers
• weight room
• weight training
• worth one's weight in gold

Rhymes for weight

• ate
• bait
• bate
• cate
• crate
• date
• eight
• fait
• fate
• fete
• frate
• freight

Kids Definition

weight

1 of 2 noun

ˈwāt 

1

a

: the amount that something weighs

b

: the standard amount that something should weigh

fined for selling meat under weight

2

a

: a quantity or portion weighing usually a certain amount

equal weights of flour and butter

b

: a heavy object (as a metal ball) used in athletic exercises and contests

3

a

: a unit (as a pound or kilogram) of weight or mass see measure see metric system

b

: an object (as a piece of metal) of known weight for balancing a scale in weighing other objects

4

a

: something heavy : load

b

: a heavy object used to hold, press down, or balance something else

clock weights

5

: a mental or emotional burden

had a weight on my conscience

6

: the force with which a body is attracted toward the earth or a heavenly body by gravitation

7

a

: the importance given to something

opinions that carry weight

b

: the greater or more impressive part

the weight of the evidence

weight

2 of 2 verb

1

: to load or make heavy with a weight

2

: to trouble with a burden

weighted down with cares

Medical Definition

weight

noun

ˈwāt 

1

: the amount that a thing weighs

2

: a unit of weight or mass