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makeweight

American  
[meyk-weyt] / ˈmeɪkˌweɪt /

noun

  1. something put in a scale to complete a required weight.

  2. anything added to supply a lack.

makeweight British  
/ ˈmeɪkˌweɪt /

noun

  1. something put on a scale to make up a required weight

  2. an unimportant person or thing added to make up a lack

"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

Etymology

Origin of makeweight

First recorded in 1685–95; make 1 + weight

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.

Disrespected and disregarded, jeered by fans and dismissed by managers, he was eventually used as a makeweight in a player exchange with second-tier Sao Paulo side Mogi Mirim.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2021

As Manchester City launched its ultimately unsuccessful attempts to sign a marquee striker during the transfer window, one player was regularly touted as a makeweight in negotiations.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2021

Josh Onomah is expected to head to Fulham as a makeweight in that Sessegnon deal.

From The Guardian • Aug. 8, 2019

For many readers they’re makeweight puffery, eminently skippable, a lot of throat-clearing and flapdoodle.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2019

It opened without the intended makeweight, and the court of France was less inclined to make concessions for a peace.

From The Reign of Mary Tudor by Rhys, Ernest

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.