weigh
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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weighs,
present (3rd person singular)
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weighed,
past participle, past
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weighing
present participle
-
to determine or ascertain the force that gravitation exerts upon (a person or thing) by use of a balance, scale, or other mechanical device.
to weigh oneself; to weigh potatoes; to weigh gases.
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to hold up or balance, as in the hand, in order to estimate the weight.
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to measure, separate, or apportion (a certain quantity of something) according to weight (usually followed byout ).
to weigh out five pounds of sugar.
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to make heavy; increase the weight or bulk of; weight.
We weighed the drapes to make them hang properly.
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to evaluate in the mind; consider carefully in order to reach an opinion, decision, or choice.
to weigh the facts; to weigh a proposal.
- Synonyms:
- contemplate, ponder
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Archaic. to raise, lift, or hoist (something).
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Obsolete. to think important; esteem.
verb (used without object)
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weighs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weighed,
past participle, past
-
weighing
present participle
-
to have weight or a specified amount of weight.
to weigh less; to weigh a ton.
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to have importance, moment, or consequence.
Your recommendation weighs heavily in his favor.
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to bear down as a weight or burden (usually followed by on orupon ).
Responsibility weighed upon her.
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to consider carefully or judicially.
to weigh well before deciding.
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(of a ship) to raise the anchor and get under way.
The ship weighed early and escaped in the fog.
verb phrase
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weigh down
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weigh in
-
(of a boxer or wrestler) to be weighed by a medical examiner on the day of a bout.
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to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.
He weighed in at 170 pounds.
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(of a jockey) to be weighed with the saddle and weights after a race.
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Informal. to offer an opinion, advice, support, etc., especially in a forceful or authoritative way.
The chairman weighed in with an idea for the fundraiser.
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weigh out (of a jockey)
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to be weighed with the saddle and weights before a race.
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to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.
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idioms
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weigh one's words. word.
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weigh anchor, to heave up a ship's anchor in preparation for getting under way.
idioms
verb
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(tr) to measure the weight of
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(intr) to have weight or be heavy
she weighs more than her sister
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to apportion according to weight
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(tr) to consider carefully
to weigh the facts of a case
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(intr) to be influential
his words weighed little with the jury
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to be oppressive or burdensome (to)
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obsolete to regard or esteem
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to raise a vessel's anchor or (of a vessel) to have its anchor raised preparatory to departure
noun
Synonym Usage
See study.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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weighsimple
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weighssimple
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have weighedperfect
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has weighedperfect
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am weighingprogressive
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are weighingprogressive
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is weighingprogressive
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have been weighingperfect progressive
-
has been weighingperfect progressive
Past
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weighedsimple
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had weighedperfect
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was weighingprogressive
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were weighingprogressive
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had been weighingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weigh1
First recorded before 900; Middle English weien, wein, weighen, Old English wegan “to carry, weigh”; cognate with Dutch wegen, German wägen, Old Norse vega; akin to Latin vehere “to carry, convey”
Origin of weigh2
First recorded in 1775–85; spelling variant of way 1 by association with weigh anchor
Explanation
To weigh is all about judging; you could be seeing how heavy something is or if it is a good choice. You could weigh the tomatoes you're buying or weigh your options when applying to college. To weigh something can mean to physically assess its weight — is it 3 pounds? 40 kilos? 22 grams? But it's no accident that the symbol for justice is often a scale. That's because all of the facts of a case need to be weighed or evaluated for justice to be served. And hopefully the decision will be balanced and fair.
Vocabulary lists containing weigh
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He acknowledged that his clemency action will anger and hurt some Californians and said that it will "always weigh heavily on me".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Circuit Court of Appeals, and on Election Day, the AFL-CIO asked the full court to weigh in—all 29 federal judges—and it remains to be seen where that may take this case.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
“We’re going to need a lot more evidence to be convinced that there still aren’t demographic headwinds that weigh on this business,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
As more of the new equipment goes into service, those charges will start to weigh on earnings.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Polly’s father, Captain Ingersoll, was just ready to weigh anchor.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
"What sort of wine bottle weighs 32 kilograms?" wrote one of them.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Brad Cooper as the U.S. weighs resuming major combat operations, according to U.S. officials and other people with direct knowledge of the meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
As inflation weighs on Japanese households, huge arcades on the outskirts of major cities are installing claw machines filled with eggs, rice, laundry detergent and other necessities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The central star has approximately 85 times the mass of Jupiter, while the brown dwarf weighs about 25 Jupiter masses.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
I have my own story, and increasingly in my old age it weighs on me.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The Taiwan dollar briefly weakened past the key level of 33 per U.S. dollar early Friday for the first time since April 2025, weighed down by the AI selloff and foreign equity outflows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Under Armour UAA -3.47%decrease; down pointing triangle posted lower revenue in its fiscal second quarter, weighed down by a slump that cut across product categories and geographic segments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
That also weighed on the dollar, which held losses against its peers in Asian trade.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
On Wednesday, the S&P 500’s rally was propelled by Big Tech, as investors weighed U.S. midterm elections resulting in Democrats taking control of Congress.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Yet each action had to be weighed carefully.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The prospect of stricter regulation was weighing on stocks in AI heavyweights such as Elon Musk's SpaceX ahead of the US markets open, after drops for key chipmakers in Asia including Samsung in South Korea.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
The softer-than-expected quarterly guidance comes after rival Booking said Tuesday that geopolitical conflicts were weighing on demand heading into the fourth quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
This should help to boost shares of some technology stocks while weighing on others.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Voters in 10 states are weighing more than 40 proposals that could restrict data-center development in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
These were not the large timber wolves but the smaller northern brush wolves, perhaps weighing forty or fifty pounds each, about as large as most of my team.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
