how heavy something is, shown as a number or felt as heaviness
The elephant's weight is more than five thousand kilograms.
She lost a lot of weight after changing her diet.
✦ From Old English ‘wiht’ meaning ‘heaviness or burden’, influenced by the verb ‘weigh’.
a heavy object made to be lifted, held down, or provide balance
He lifts heavy weights at the gym every morning.
The paper was held down by a small metal weight on the desk.
✦ Same origin as Sense 1, later extended to refer to physical objects used for balancing or exercising.
importance or influence that something or someone has
Her opinion carries a lot of weight in the company.
The judge gave great weight to the eyewitness testimony.
✦ Figurative use dating back to the 14th century, extending the idea of physical heaviness to abstract importance.
to make something heavier or to give one part more importance than another
They weighted the survey results to reflect the age distribution of the country.
Please weight the curtains so they don't fly around in the breeze.
✦ Derived from the noun, first used as a verb in the 15th century meaning ‘to add weight’.
A boxer who competes in the heaviest weight class, typically over 200 pounds or 91 kilograms.
Muhammad Ali was a legendary heavyweight in boxing.
The heavyweight match drew thousands of fans.
✦ Compound word from "heavy" + "weight", first used in boxing around 1810 to denote the heaviest class.
