(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ of a person or thing is how heavy they are, measured in units such as kilograms, pounds, or tons.
What is your height and ~?...
This reduced the ~ of the load...
Turkeys can reach enormous ~s of up to 50 pounds.
N-VAR: oft amount in N, with poss, N of amount
•
If someone loses ~, they become lighter. If they gain ~ or put on ~, they become heavier.
I’m lucky really as I never put on ~...
He lost two stone in ~ during his time there.
PHRASE: V inflects
2.
A person’s or thing’s ~ is the fact that they are very heavy.
Despite the vehicle’s size and ~ it is not difficult to drive.
N-UNCOUNT: with poss
3.
If you move your ~, you change position so that most of the pressure of your body is on a particular part of your body.
He shifted his ~ from one foot to the other...
He kept the ~ from his left leg.
N-SING: poss/ the N
4.
Weights are objects which weigh a known amount and which people lift as a form of exercise.
I was in the gym lifting ~s.
N-COUNT: usu pl
5.
Weights are metal objects which weigh a known amount and which are used on a set of scales to weigh other things.
N-COUNT
6.
You can refer to a heavy object as a ~, especially when you have to lift it.
Straining to lift heavy ~s can lead to a rise in blood pressure.
N-COUNT
7.
If you ~ something, you make it heavier by adding something to it, for example in order to stop it from moving easily.
It can be sewn into curtain hems to ~ the curtain and so allow it to hang better.
VERB: V n
8.
If you ~ things, you give them different values according to how important or significant they are.
...a computer program which ~s the different transitions according to their likelihood...
This takes account of the number of countries in which a company wins approval for a new drug, ~ed by the size of each country’s market.
VERB: V n, V-ed
9.
If something is given a particular ~, it is given a particular value according to how important or significant it is.
The scientists involved put different ~ on the conclusions of different models...
= ~ing
N-VAR
10.
If someone or something gives ~ to what a person says, thinks, or does, they emphasize its significance.
The fact that he is gone has given more ~ to fears that he may try to launch a civil war...
N-UNCOUNT
11.
If you give something or someone ~, you consider them to be very important or influential in a particular situation.
Consumers generally place more ~ on negative information than on the positive when deciding what to buy.
N-UNCOUNT
12.
see also ~ing , dead ~
13.
If a person or their opinion carries ~, they are respected and are able to influence people.
That argument no longer carries as much ~...
Senator Kerry carries considerable ~ in Washington.
PHRASE: V inflects
14.
If you say that someone or something is worth their ~ in gold, you are emphasizing that they are so useful, helpful, or valuable that you feel you could not manage without them.
Any successful manager is worth his ~ in gold.
PHRASE: v-link PHR emphasis
15.
If you pull your ~, you work as hard as everyone else who is involved in the same task or activity.
He accused the team of not pulling their ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
16.
a ~ off your mind: see mind