dead weight

American  

Or deadweight

noun

1. the heavy, unrelieved weight of anything inert.

   The dead weight of the bear's body was over 300 pounds.

2. a heavy or oppressive burden or responsibility.

3. the weight of a railroad car, truck, etc., as distinct from its load or contents.

---

dead weight British  

noun

1. a heavy weight or load

2. an oppressive burden; encumbrance

3. the difference between the loaded and the unloaded weights of a ship

4. another name for dead load

5. (in shipping) freight chargeable by weight rather than by bulk

---

dead weight Idioms  

1. A heavy or oppressive burden, as in That police record will be a dead weight on his career. This term alludes to the unrelieved weight of an inert mass. [Early 1700s]

---

Etymology

Origin of dead weight

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

Of course I wanted to, but the laundry basket was dead weight in my arms.

From Literature

The mist rolled over Christopher, up over his chest, his head, and he felt a great weight pressing down on him like a hand; a terrible, cold dead weight.

From Literature

The text of the measure was unenforceable, but the dead words remained in the California Constitution, a dead weight on our collective conscience.

From Los Angeles Times

Now he had been deemed dead weight in Italy, too.

From New York Times

I wheezed a tiny prayer to God and ran faster, even with the dead weight on my back.

From Literature

Related Words

• barrier
• bottleneck
• burden
• defect
• deterrent
• difficulty
• disadvantage
• drawback
• flaw
• handicap
• hazard
• hitch
• hurdle
• inhibition
• obstacle
• red tape
• restriction
• setback
• snag
• stumbling block