WEIGHT


Meaning of WEIGHT in English

I. ˈwāt 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

weight ed 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 weight ed so heavily in favor of the upper classes — A. S. Link

6. : to shift the burden of weight upon

weight the inside ski

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.