throw weight

or throw·weight

[ throh weyt ]

noun

1. the lifting power, or payload maximum, of a ballistic missile exclusive of the weight of the rocket itself, and including the weight of the warhead or warheads and of guidance and penetration systems; ballistic delivery power:

   larger Russian missiles with a throw weight of up to 20 megatons.

throw weight

noun

1. the maximum weight of supplementary mechanisms that can be lifted by the boost stages of a particular missile

throw-weight

1. The size of the nuclear warhead or set of warheads that a missile, such as a ballistic missile, can carry. A nation might make up for the inaccuracy of its missiles by increasing their throw-weight.

Word History and Origins

Origin of throw weight¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

A slight lifting of the left heel will lessen the tendency to throw weight on that foot.

From Project Gutenberg

The petitioners proposed a measure that evidently tended to throw weight into a scale which preponderated too much already.

From Project Gutenberg