featherweight
[ feth -er-weyt ]
/ ˈfɛð ərˌweɪt /
noun
a boxer or other contestant intermediate in weight between a bantamweight and a lightweight, especially a professional boxer weighing up to 126 pounds (57 kg).
an insignificant person or thing: He thinks he's a major composer, but he's just a featherweight.
adjective
belonging to the class of featherweights, especially in boxing.
extremely light in weight: a featherweight quilt.
unimportant; trifling; slight.
Nearby words
featherhead, feathering, featherlight, feathers, featherstitch, featherweight, feathery, featly, feature, feature story, feature-length
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for featherweight
British Dictionary definitions for featherweight
featherweight
/ (ˈfɛðəˌweɪt) /
noun
- something very light or of little importance
- (as modifier)featherweight considerations
- a professional boxer weighing 118–126 pounds (53.5–57 kg)
- an amateur boxer weighing 54–57 kg (119–126 pounds)
- (as modifier)the featherweight challenger
a wrestler in a similar weight category (usually 126–139 pounds (57–63 kg))
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
Word Origin and History for featherweight
featherweight
also feather-weight, the lightest allowable, 1812 (earlier as simply feather, 1760), from feather (n.) + weight. Originally in horse-racing; boxing use dates from 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper