Definition of avoirdupoisnext
1
as in weight
the amount that something weighs the coach limited his recruiting to linebackers of a certain avoirdupois

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in ponderousness
the state or quality of being heavy told his patient that he had to do something about his unhealthy avoirdupois and that exercising would be a good start

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of avoirdupois To make the most of the full fury of its hot-cam performance, the Integra was trimmed of 140 pounds of not-so-necessary avoirdupois. — Barry Winfield, Car and Driver, 21 May 2020 McCormick was a member of the Jolly Fat Men’s Club, a fraternal group that celebrated avoirdupois. — John Kelly, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avoirdupois
Noun
  • Limiting electric boost primarily to these high-power phases reduces the amount of battery capacity—and battery weight—the aircraft must carry.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Blood sugar can rise again, particularly if someone regains weight or their pancreas loses more of its ability to produce insulin.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • There’s a weightiness to this project that’s not lost on the director, whose aim is to deliver a production as close to Larson’s vision as possible — retaining its period and NYC setting — with a few surprises.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This full-tang steak knife had a nice balanced weightiness.
    — Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The 2025 Best of Beauty Award winner glides onto skin and disappears in seconds, leaving no heaviness or greasy residue behind.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The heaviness comes from the fact that the artist died in April, at age forty-six, but it’s also embedded in the paintings on view—in the bursts of fire and swirling floods that mark them.
    — Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • This represents what a typical consumer might buy without specialty ordering options or bulk purchasing.
    — John Alexander, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026
  • R136a1 is just such a star, the most massive star known, at several hundred times the sun’s bulk.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Avoirdupois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avoirdupois. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster