weight

I. 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 <

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

> 6. to shift the burden of weight upon <

weight the inside ski

>