o ‧ ver ‧ weight /ˌəʊvəˈweɪt◂ $ ˌoʊvər-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ overweight ≠ ↑ underweight , ↑ weighted , ↑ weighty , ↑ weightless ; verb : ↑ weigh , ↑ outweigh , ↑ weight ; noun : ↑ weight , weights, ↑ weighting ]
1 . someone who is overweight is too heavy and fat ⇨ underweight
10 kilos/20 pounds etc overweight
Sally was 50 pounds overweight.
He is slightly overweight.
2 . something such as a package that is overweight weighs more than it is supposed to weigh ⇨ underweight :
My luggage was overweight by five kilos.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ slightly overweight/a little overweight ( also a bit overweight )
He was tall and slightly overweight.
|
He’s a bit overweight, not too much.
▪ seriously/heavily overweight (=very overweight)
Being seriously overweight doubles the risk of heart disease.
▪ grossly overweight disapproving (=extremely overweight)
The vet said the dog was grossly overweight and that it was affecting his heart.
▪ be 5 kilos/20 pounds etc overweight
I’m about 15 pounds overweight right now.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ fat having too much flesh on your body. It is rude to tell someone that they are fat. It is also better not to use any of these words when talking directly to someone about their body:
She thinks she’s fat.
|
He looks the same, just a little fatter.
▪ overweight weighing more than you should:
Many medical conditions are caused by being overweight.
|
She was several kilos overweight.
▪ big/large used when saying that someone has a big body. Large is more common than big in written English:
My father was a big man.
|
two large ladies
▪ obese extremely fat in a way that is dangerous to your health:
He went to a summer camp for obese teenagers.
▪ chubby slightly fat in a nice-looking way – used especially about babies and children:
A chubby little baby was playing on the rug.
▪ plump a woman or child who is plump is slightly fat, especially in a pleasant way:
Her mother was a plump cheerful woman.
▪ flabby having soft loose skin that looks unattractive:
a flabby stomach
|
Her body was getting old and flabby.
▪ portly literary fat and round – used especially about fairly old men:
The bishop was a portly middle-aged gentleman.