dead weight

or deadweight

Save This Word!

See synonyms for dead weight on Thesaurus.com

noun

the heavy, unrelieved weight of anything inert: The dead weight of the bear's body was over 300 pounds.

a heavy or oppressive burden or responsibility.

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

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of dead weight

First recorded in 1650–60

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dead weight in a sentence

Access to credit can be a great thing, but it can also become a deadweight around your neck.
Dirty Debt, Done Dirt Cheap|Nick Gillespie|October 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
All those presents that no one wants represent huge deadweight loss.
How Terrible Is Christmas?|Megan McArdle|December 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Similarly, consider Joel Waldfogel's AER article "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas" (which he later adapted into Scroogenomics).
How Terrible Is Christmas?|Megan McArdle|December 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
After all, excessive holiday spending results in what economists refer to a “deadweight loss.”
6 Secrets of Perfect Gift Giving|Lee Eisenberg|November 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Yet the power (so defined as horse-power) required to raise a deadweight of 20 lbs.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
On the completion of these he was asked by his owner to take command of a barque of about 600 tons deadweight.
The Shellback's Progress|Walter Runciman
It was the sudden release of both the keel and deadweight of the projectile that had caused R19 to shoot up to the surface.
A Sub and a Submarine|Percy F. Westerman
The remainder were freighters, averaging about 5,000 deadweight tons each.
Area Handbook for Romania|Eugene K. Keefe, Donald W. Bernier, Lyle E. Brenneman, William Giloane, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
In all his movements Bering was hampered by this academical deadweight.
Vitus Bering: the Discoverer of Bering Strait|Peter Lauridsen

British Dictionary definitions for dead weight

dead weight

noun

a heavy weight or load

an oppressive burden; encumbrance

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

another name for dead load

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with dead weight

dead weight

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]

dead weight

or deadweight

Origin of dead weight

Words related to dead weight

How to use dead weight in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dead weight

Other Idioms and Phrases with dead weight