weight

weight
I. noun Etymology: Middle English wight, weght, from Old English wiht; akin to Old Norse vætt weight, Old English wegan to weigh Date: before 12th century 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 (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 (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 (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 Synonyms: see importance, influence II. transitive verb Date: 1647 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 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
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Weight — Weight, n. [OE. weght, wight, AS. gewiht; akin to D. gewigt, G. gewicht, Icel. v[ae]tt, Sw. vigt, Dan. v[ae]gt. See {Weigh}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. The quality of being heavy; that property of bodies by which they tend toward the center of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weight — [wāt] n. [ME weiht, altered (infl. by weien, WEIGH1) < OE wiht < wegan: see WEIGH1] 1. a portion or quantity weighing a definite or specified amount [ten pounds weight of lead] 2. a) heaviness as a quality of things …   English World dictionary

  • Weight — Weight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Weighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Weighting}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To load with a weight or weights; to load down; to make heavy; to attach weights to; as, to weight a horse or a jockey at a race; to weight a whip handle.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weight — ► NOUN 1) a body s relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, giving rise to a downward force; heaviness. 2) Physics the force exerted on the mass of a body by a gravitational field. 3) the quality of being heavy. 4) a unit or… …   English terms dictionary

  • weight — O.E. gewiht, from P.Gmc. * (ga)wekhtiz, * (ga)wekhtjan (Cf. O.N. vætt, O.Fris. wicht, M.Du. gewicht, Ger. Gewicht), from *weg (see WEIGH (Cf. weigh)). The verb meaning to load with weight is attested from 1747; sense in statistics is recorded… …   Etymology dictionary

  • weight — [n1] heaviness adiposity, avoirdupois, ballast, burden, density, G factor*, gravity, gross, heft, heftiness, load, mass, measurement, net, ponderosity, ponderousness, poundage, pressure, substance, tonnage; concept 795 weight [n2] something used… …   New thesaurus

  • weight|y — «WAY tee», adjective, weight|i|er, weight|i|est. 1. heavy; having much weight. SYNONYM(S): ponderous. See syn. under …   Useful english dictionary

  • Weight — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Doug Weight (* 1971), US amerikanischer Eishockeyspieler Pamela Weight, britische Eiskunstläuferin Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • weight — I (burden) noun care, cumbrance, duty, encumbrance, incubus, liability, load, mass, obligation, onus, oppression, ponderousness, pressure, responsibility II (credibility) noun belief, certainty, confidence, credence, credibleness, credit, faith,… …   Law dictionary

  • weight — n 1 significance, *importance, moment, consequence, import Analogous words: *worth, value: magnitude, *size, extent: seriousness, gravity (see corresponding adjectives at SERIOUS) 2 *influence, authority, prestige, cr …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • weight|i|ly — «WAY tuh lee», adverb. in a weighty manner; heavily; ponderously; momentously; forcibly …   Useful english dictionary

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