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.

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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

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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]

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Etymology

Origin of dead weight

First recorded in 1650–60

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dead weight

The factory sector no longer looks like dead weight.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026

Misguided, opinionated labor is dead weight; the high-up leaders know best, which is why they’ve earned the positions they have to begin with.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2023

“I thought I was dead weight / But you wanna carry me / You wanna carry me home,” she sings on the track, gritty guitar sounds behind her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2023

“I’m trying to understand how a person’s dead weight can be on your body and how his head can be suspended above your head?”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2023

When I tried sitting up, my head spun and I fell back on the bed, dead weight on my pillows.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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Related Words

• barrier
• bottleneck
• burden
• defect
• deterrent
• difficulty
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• hitch
• hurdle
• inhibition
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• red tape
• restriction
• setback
• snag
• stumbling block

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