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weight (w t)n. Abbr. wt. or w1. A measure of the heaviness of an object. 2. The force with which a body is attracted to Earth or another celestial body, equal to the product of the object's mass and the acceleration of gravity. 3. a. A unit measure of gravitational force: a table of weights and measures. b. A system of such measures: avoirdupois weight; troy weight. 4. The measured heaviness of a specific object: a two-pound weight. 5. An object used principally to exert a force by virtue of its gravitational attraction to Earth, especially: a. A metallic solid used as a standard of comparison in weighing. b. An object used to hold something else down. c. A counterbalance in a machine. d. Sports A heavy object, such as a dumbbell, lifted for exercise or in athletic competition. 6. Excessive fat; corpulence: exercising in order to lose weight. 7. Statistics A factor assigned to a number in a computation, as in determining an average, to make the number's effect on the computation reflect its importance. 8. Oppressiveness; pressure: the weight of responsibilities. 9. The greater part; preponderance: The weight of the evidence is against the defendant. 10. a. Influence, importance, or authority: Her approval carried great weight. See Synonyms at importance. b. Ponderous quality: the weight of the speaker's words. 11. Sports A classification according to comparative lightness or heaviness. Often used in combination: a heavyweight boxer. 12. The heaviness or thickness of a fabric in relation to a particular season or use. Often used in combination: a summerweight jacket. tr.v. weight·ed, weight·ing, weights 1. To add to, by or as if by attaching a weight; make heavy or heavier. 2. To load down, burden, or oppress. 3. To increase the weight or body of (fabrics) by treating with chemicals. 4. Statistics To assign weights or a weight to. 5. To cause to have a slant or bias: weighted the rules in favor of homeowners. 6. Sports To assign to (a horse) the weight it must carry as a handicap in a race. Idioms: by weight According to weight rather than volume or other measure. make weight Sports To weigh within the limits stipulated for an athletic contest.
[Middle English wight, from Old English wiht; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.] |
weight Noun 1. the heaviness of an object, substance, or person 2. Physics the vertical force experienced by a mass as a result of gravitation 3. a. a system of units used to express weight: metric weight b. a unit used to measure weight: the kilogram is the weight used in the metric system 4. a. an object of known heaviness used for weighing objects, substances, or people b. an object of known heaviness used in weight training or weightlifting to strengthen the muscles 5. any heavy load: with a weight of fish on their backs 6. force, importance, or influence: they want their words to carry weight 7. an oppressive force: the weight of expectation 8. pull one's weight Informal to do one's full share of a task 9. throw one's weight about Informal to act in an aggressive authoritarian manner Verb 1. to add weight to; make heavier 2. to slant (a system) so that it favours one side rather than another [Old English wiht]
weight (w t)1. The force with which an object near the Earth or another celestial body is attracted toward the center of the body by gravity. An object's weight depends on its mass and the strength of the gravitational pull. The weight of an object in an aircraft flying at high altitude is less than its weight at sea level, since the strength of gravity decreases with increasing distance from the Earth's surface. The SI unit of weight is the newton, though units of mass such as grams or kilograms are used more informally to denote the weight of some mass, understood as the force acting on it in a gravitational field with a strength of one G. The pound is also still used as a unit of weight. 2. A system of such measures, such as avoirdupois weight or troy weight. Usage Although most hand-held calculators can translate pounds into kilograms, an absolute conversion factor between these two units is not technically sound. A pound is a unit of force, and a kilogram is a unit of mass. When the unit pound is used to indicate the force that a gravitational field exerts on a mass, the pound is a unit of weight. Mistaking weight for mass is tantamount to confusing the electric charges on two objects with the forces of attraction (or repulsion) between them. Like charge, the mass of an object is an intrinsic property of that object: electrons have a unique mass, protons have a unique mass, and some particles, such as photons, have no mass. Weight, on the other hand, is a force due to the gravitational attraction between two bodies. For example, one's weight on the Moon is 1/6 of one's weight on Earth. Nevertheless, one's mass on the Moon is identical to one's mass on Earth. The reason that hand-held calculators can translate between units of weight and units of mass is that the majority of us use calculators on the planet Earth at sea level, where the conversion factor is constant for all practical purposes. |
Weight an unidentified group, used to counter or support arguments. Examples: weight of affection, 1587; of argument, 1787; of judgement, 1787; of opinion.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | weight - the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravityphysical property - any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions heaviness, weightiness - the property of being comparatively great in weight; "the heaviness of lead" tare - the weight of a motor vehicle, railroad car, or aircraft without its fuel or cargo throw-weight - the weight of the payload of a missile (not including the weight of the rocket) | | 2. | weight - sports equipment used in calisthenic exercises and weightlifting; it is not attached to anything and is raised and lowered by use of the hands and armsbarbell - a bar to which heavy discs are attached at each end; used in weightlifting dumbbell - an exercising weight; two spheres connected by a short bar that serves as a handle | | 3. | weight - the relative importance granted to something; "his opinion carries great weight"; "the progression implied an increasing weightiness of the items listed"importance - the quality of being important and worthy of note; "the importance of a well-balanced diet" | | 4. | weight - an artifact that is heavybob - a hanging weight, especially a metal ball on a string makeweight - a weight added to the scale to reach a required weight paperweight - a weight used to hold down a stack of papers sinker - a weight that sinks (as to hold nets or fishing lines under water) | | 5. | weight - an oppressive feeling of heavy force; "bowed down by the weight of responsibility" | | 6. | weight - a system of units used to express the weight of somethingtroy, troy weight - a system of weights used for precious metals and gemstones; based on a 12-ounce pound and an ounce of 480 grains | | 7. | weight - a unit used to measure weight; "he placed two weights in the scale pan"unit, unit of measurement - any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United States unit of currency"; "a unit of wheat is a bushel"; "change per unit volume" troy unit - any of the unit of the troy system of weights arroba - a unit of weight used in some Spanish speaking countries cattie, catty - any of various units of weight used in southeastern Asia (especially a Chinese measure equal to 500 grams) crith - the weight of a liter of hydrogen (at 0 centigrade and 760 millimeters pressure) frail - the weight of a frail (basket) full of raisins or figs; between 50 and 75 pounds last - a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds maund - a unit of weight used in Asia; has different values in different countries; "the official maund in India is 82.6 pounds avoirdupois" obolus - a Greek unit of weight equal to one tenth of a gram oka - a Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds picul - a unit of weight used in some parts of Asia; approximately equal to 133 pounds (the load a grown man can carry) pood - a Russian unit of weight equal to approximately 36 pounds rotl - a unit of weight used in some Moslem countries near the Mediterranean; varies between one and five pounds tael - a unit of weight used in east Asia approximately equal to 1.3 ounces tod - a unit of weight for wool equal to about 28 pounds welterweight - a weight of 28 pounds; sometimes imposed as a handicap in a horse race (such as a steeplechase) | | 8. | weight - (statistics) a coefficient assigned to elements of a frequency distribution in order to represent their relative importancestatistics - a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters coefficient - a constant number that serves as a measure of some property or characteristic | | Verb | 1. | weight - weight down with a load charge - fill or load to capacity; "charge the wagon with hay" saddle - load or burden; encumber; "he saddled me with that heavy responsibility" | | 2. | weight - present with a bias; "He biased his presentation so as to please the share holders" |
weight noun 3. importance, force, power, moment, value, authority, influence, bottom, impact, import, muscle, consequence, substance, consideration, emphasis, significance, sway, clout ( informal) leverage, efficacy, mana N.Z. persuasiveness noun 5. preponderance, mass, bulk, main body, most, majority, onus, lion's share, greatest force, main force, best or better part
Translationsweight [weɪt] n → peso; weights and measures → pesas y medidas weight [weɪt] n → poids mweights and measures → poids et mesures weight [weɪt] n → Gewicht ntvt (fig); to be weighted in favour of sb/sth → jdn/etw begünstigen; weights and measures → Maße und Gewichte weight [weɪt] n → peso; weights and measures → pesi e misure;
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