weigh

¹ American  

[wey] / weɪ /

verb (used with object)

• weighs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• weighed,
  past participle,  past
• weighing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to hold up or balance, as in the hand, in order to estimate the weight.

3. to measure, separate, or apportion (a certain quantity of something) according to weight (usually followed byout ).

   to weigh out five pounds of sugar.

4. to make heavy; increase the weight or bulk of; weight.

   We weighed the drapes to make them hang properly.

5. 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

6. Archaic. to raise, lift, or hoist (something).

7. Obsolete. to think important; esteem.

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verb (used without object)

• weighs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• weighed,
  past participle,  past
• weighing
  present participle

1. to have weight or a specified amount of weight.

   to weigh less; to weigh a ton.

2. to have importance, moment, or consequence.

   Your recommendation weighs heavily in his favor.

3. to bear down as a weight or burden (usually followed by on orupon ).

   Responsibility weighed upon her.

4. to consider carefully or judicially.

   to weigh well before deciding.

5. (of a ship) to raise the anchor and get under way.

   The ship weighed early and escaped in the fog.

verb phrase

1. weigh down

   1. to cause to become bowed under a weight.

      snow and ice weighing down the trees.

   2. to lower the spirits of; burden; depress.

      This predicament weighs me down.

2. weigh in

   1. (of a boxer or wrestler) to be weighed by a medical examiner on the day of a bout.

   2. to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.

      He weighed in at 170 pounds.

   3. (of a jockey) to be weighed with the saddle and weights after a race.

   4. 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.

3. weigh out (of a jockey)

   1. to be weighed with the saddle and weights before a race.

   2. to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.

idioms

1. weigh one's words. word.

2. weigh anchor, to heave up a ship's anchor in preparation for getting under way.

weigh ² American  

[wey] / weɪ /

idioms

1. under weigh, in motion; under way.

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weigh ¹ British  

/ weɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to measure the weight of

2. (intr) to have weight or be heavy

   she weighs more than her sister

3. to apportion according to weight

4. (tr) to consider carefully

   to weigh the facts of a case

5. (intr) to be influential

   his words weighed little with the jury

6. to be oppressive or burdensome (to)

7. obsolete to regard or esteem

8. to raise a vessel's anchor or (of a vessel) to have its anchor raised preparatory to departure

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weigh ² British  

/ weɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of under way

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Synonym Usage

See study.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• weigher
  noun
• unweighable
  adjective
• unweighing
  adjective
• weighable
  adjective
• well-weighed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• weighing
  present
• weighed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• weigh
  simple
• weighs
  simple
• have weighed
  perfect
• has weighed
  perfect
• am weighing
  progressive
• are weighing
  progressive
• is weighing
  progressive
• have been weighing
  perfect progressive
• has been weighing
  perfect progressive

Past

• weighed
  simple
• had weighed
  perfect
• was weighing
  progressive
• were weighing
  progressive
• had been weighing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will weigh
  simple
• will have weighed
  perfect
• will be weighing
  progressive
• will have been weighing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weigh weighs weighed weighing

The department will weigh in on the conditional use permit at a later date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, he effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Rheinmetall had warned the decision would weigh on second-quarter orders and that its naval systems division faced up to 300 million euros in lost sales if it failed to mitigate the impact of the cancellation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Another was that few in Landover seemed to even know about the development plan, much less have the chance to weigh in on it.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Once I’ve done three, maybe four passes back and forth, I use the portable hanging scale to weigh it, and then I go to show Mom my haul.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

But as she weighs a third presidential bid, Harris stands to face a bigger and more formidable opponent: herself.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

"He's 10 years old and weighs around 60 kilograms."

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The inflation tracker that exerts the biggest influence on the actions of the Federal Reserve is getting a makeover just as a divided central bank weighs whether to raise U.S. interest rates this fall.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

It measures just 4.1 millimetres in thickness and weighs 215 grammes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Dinah Lee Dixon grows the biggest pumpkin in the county—it weighs thirty-three pounds, seven ounces.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper

Equity markets were in turn mostly down, with Seoul again weighed by concerns over the AI boom while Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei and Manila were also lower.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

The company’s shares have partially recovered over the past month despite being weighed down by concerns about artificial intelligence, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Zillow swung to a second-quarter loss as restructuring costs weighed on its bottom line despite higher revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

The outbreak has weighed on foot traffic at chains like Chipotle and Yum Brands’ Taco Bell, the latter of which had been an initial focus for investigators.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

She scratched at a logo T-shirt weighed down over her right shoulder with a beaded pin that read Sandy June’s Legendary Grandparent.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

According to the European Space Agency, there are more than 46,000 pieces of debris weighing a total of 17,000 tonnes currently in orbit.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

The company has begun weighing a complementary offering that could be built around advertising sales.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Among those weighing in on the S&P 500’s first closing high in 42 sessions was Michael Burry, the investor famed for predicting the housing market crash and portrayed in “The Big Short.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The baby was born on Monday at 18:20 BST, weighing 6lbs 9oz.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

It’s bright blue and purple and says Gertrude Nix Rock Camp for Girls, with pictures of girls screaming into microphones, guitars weighing down their shoulders, drumsticks flying.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Related Words

• analyze
• balance
• estimate
• evaluate
• examine
• ponder