Etimology
From Middle English weight, weiȝte, weght, wight, from Old English wiht, ġewiht (“weight”), from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz ("weight"; compare *weganą (“to move”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move; pull; draw; drive”). Equivalent to weigh + -th. Cognate with Scots wecht, weicht (“weight”), Saterland Frisian Wächte (“scale”), Gewicht (“weight”), West Frisian gewicht (“weight”), Dutch gewicht (“weight”), German Low German Wicht, Gewicht (“weight”), German Wucht (“massiveness, force”), Gewicht (“weight”).
noun
weight (countable and uncountable, plural weights)
The force an object exerts on the object it is on due to gravitation.
An object used to make something heavier.
A standardized block of metal used in a balance to measure the mass of another object.
(figurative) Importance or influence.
(weightlifting) An object, such as a weight plate or barbell, used for strength training.
(lubricants) Viscosity rating.
(physics) Mass (atomic weight, molecular weight, etc.) (in restricted circumstances)
(physics, proscribed) Synonym of mass (in general circumstances)
(measurement) Mass (net weight, troy weight, carat weight, etc.).
(statistics) A variable which multiplies a value for ease of statistical manipulation.
(topology) The smallest cardinality of a base.
(typography) The boldness of a font; the relative thickness of its strokes.
(visual art) The relative thickness of a drawn rule or painted brushstroke, line weight.
(visual art) The illusion of mass.
(visual art) The thickness and opacity of paint.
(figurative) Pressure; burden.
The resistance against which a machine acts, as opposed to the power which moves it.
(slang, uncountable) Shipments of (often illegal) drugs.
(slang, countable) One pound of drugs, especially cannabis.
(criminal slang, dated) Money.
Weight class
Examples
I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.
Another knight came to settle on the island, a man of much weight and position, on whom the Adelantados of all the island relied, and who was made a magistrate.
"You surely are a man of some weight around here," I said.
He's working out with weights.
font weight
the weight of care or business
The waight of this ſad time we muſt obey […]
For the public all this weight he bears.
He was pushing weight.
The three of us were hanging out rapping in Hamilton projects with some niggahs Pimp had got tight with on Rikers Island. Them fools had done a push-in and took over some old lady's apartment, and they were in there cutting crack and mixing weight.
[I was] doing a weight [1 lb. at that time] a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.
The ones the CIB should be looking out for, to her mind, were the officers who raided a flat, found a couple of weights of cannabis and stashed half of it before they made the collar. The cannabis would make its way back on to the street […]
No matter how much money he makes, he is still a soldier, but he has the weight.
You’re no match for ’em. You ain’t up to their weight. It’s like little Black Strap standing up to Tom Spring,—the Black’s a pretty fighter but, Law bless you, his arm ain’t long enough to touch Tom,—and I tell you, you’re going it with fellers beyond your weight.
Related words
coordinate terms
mass
inertial mass
gravitational mass
related terms
weigh
verb
weight (third-person singular simple present weights, present participle weighting, simple past and past participle weighted)
(transitive) To add weight to something; to make something heavier.
(transitive) To load, burden or oppress someone.
(transitive, mathematics) To assign weights to individual statistics.
(transitive) To bias something; to slant.
(transitive, horse racing) To handicap a horse with a specified weight.
(transitive, sports) To give a certain amount of force to a throw, kick, hit, etc.
Examples
The U.K. economy is heavily weighted towards the service sector and the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a 10% fall in gross domestic product in the second quarter, according to economists at Jefferies.
With good peripheral vision he spots his teammate, Ray Evans, lurking in the scoring zone and sweeps a perfectly weighted pass to him.