dead weight
Americannoun
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the heavy, unrelieved weight of anything inert.
The dead weight of the bear's body was over 300 pounds.
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a heavy or oppressive burden or responsibility.
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the weight of a railroad car, truck, etc., as distinct from its load or contents.
noun
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a heavy weight or load
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an oppressive burden; encumbrance
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the difference between the loaded and the unloaded weights of a ship
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another name for dead load
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(in shipping) freight chargeable by weight rather than by bulk
Etymology
Origin of dead weight
First recorded in 1650–60
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.
The factory sector no longer looks like dead weight.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026
That’s because when he was in contact with the rock his legs were worse than dead weight.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024
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’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
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.
