paperweight

American

[pey-per-weyt] / ˈpeɪ pərˌweɪt /

noun

a small, heavy object of glass, metal, etc., placed on papers to keep them from scattering.

paperweight British

/ ˈpeɪpəˌweɪt /

noun

a small heavy object placed on loose papers to prevent them from scattering

"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 paperweight

First recorded in 1855–60; paper + 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.

My tongue felt like someone had snuck a paperweight inside it.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2025

A few days later, McVay addressed his players while holding a paperweight emblazoned with “Built for this,” and he emphasized that theme after the Rams practiced Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2025

When only one person has a phone, it’s a paperweight.

From Washington Post • Nov. 3, 2022

The paperweight in our analogy might be a white dwarf or a neutron star.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

Colonel Cathcart transferred a round glass paperweight competently from the right edge of his desk to the left edge and picked up a sharpened pencil.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023