featherweight
Americannoun
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a boxer or other contestant intermediate in weight between a bantamweight and a lightweight, especially a professional boxer weighing up to 126 pounds (57 kilograms).
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an insignificant person or thing.
He thinks he's a major composer, but he's just a featherweight.
noun
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something very light or of little importance
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( as modifier )
featherweight considerations
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a professional boxer weighing 118–126 pounds (53.5–57 kg)
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an amateur boxer weighing 54–57 kg (119–126 pounds)
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( as modifier )
the featherweight challenger
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a wrestler in a similar weight category (usually 126–139 pounds (57–63 kg))
Etymology
Origin of featherweight
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.
McGregor was the UFC's first simultaneous two-weight world champion after winning titles at featherweight in 2015 and lightweight in 2016, but his career has been dogged by controversy in recent years.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The bout was scheduled for five rounds in the featherweight division.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
After Friday's official weigh-ins, Rousey waited for Carano to get off the scales and greeted her with a hug after she made weight for their featherweight bout.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
Case in point: the featherweight quilted Celestia jacket with a highly reflective shell that, according to the designer, “comes alive with motion.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
What Cavendish was trying to do was measure gravity at this extremely featherweight level.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Definitions 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.