/ wiːk; NAmE / adjective
( weaker , weakest )
NOT PHYSICALLY STRONG
1.
not physically strong :
She is still weak after her illness.
His legs felt weak.
She suffered from a weak heart.
LIKELY TO BREAK
2.
that cannot support a lot of weight; likely to break :
That bridge is too weak for heavy traffic.
WITHOUT POWER
3.
easy to influence; not having much power :
a weak and cowardly man
In a weak moment (= when I was easily persuaded) I said she could borrow the car.
a weak leader
The unions have always been weak in this industry.
POOR / SICK PEOPLE
4.
the weak noun [ pl. ] people who are poor, sick or without power
CURRENCY / ECONOMY
5.
not financially strong or successful :
a weak currency
The economy is very weak.
NOT GOOD AT STH
6.
weak (in sth) not good at sth :
a weak team
I was always weak in the science subjects.
NOT CONVINCING
7.
that people are not likely to believe or be persuaded by
SYN unconvincing :
weak arguments
I enjoyed the movie but I thought the ending was very weak.
HARD TO SEE / HEAR
8.
not easily seen or heard :
a weak light / signal / sound
WITHOUT ENTHUSIASM
9.
done without enthusiasm or energy :
a weak smile
He made a weak attempt to look cheerful.
LIQUID
10.
a weak liquid contains a lot of water :
weak tea
POINT / SPOT
11.
weak point / spot the part of a person's character, an argument, etc. that is easy to attack or criticize :
The team's weak points are in defence.
He knew her weak spot where Steve was concerned.
GRAMMAR
12.
a weak verb forms the past tense and past participle by adding a regular ending and not by changing a vowel. In English this is done by adding -d , -ed or -t (for example walk , walked )
PHONETICS
13.
( of the pronunciation of some words ) used when there is no stress on the word. For example, the weak form of and is /ən/ or /n/, as in bread and butter /ˌbred n ˈbʌtə(r)/ .
OPP strong
•
IDIOMS
- weak at the knees
- the weak link (in the chain)
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English wāc pliant , of little worth , not steadfast , reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse veikr , from a Germanic base meaning yield, give way .