throw weight

or throw·weight

[ throh-weyt ]

/ ˈθroʊ ˌweɪt /

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noun

the lifting power, or payload maximum, of a ballistic missile exclusive of the weight of the rocket itself, and including the weight of the warhead or warheads and of guidance and penetration systems; ballistic delivery power: larger Russian missiles with a throw weight of up to 20 megatons.

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Origin of throw weight

First recorded in 1965–70

Words nearby throw weight

throw together, throw to the wolves, throw up, throw up one's hands, throw up to, throw weight, thru, thrum, thrum-eyed, thrummy, thrump

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

How to use throw weight in a sentence

A lot of people ring in the New Year with vows to lose weight and exercise.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet we keep doing the cleanses, buying the meal replacement bars, and joining Weight Watchers.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The problem, says UC Davis physiologist and nutritionist Linda Bacon, is that very few people can lose weight and keep it off.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then the commercial weight loss behemoths Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig joined this crowded field.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The rule of law, you see, buckles, bends and sometimes crumbles under the weight of racism, sexism, and classism.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
If you throw away this chance, you will both richly deserve to be hanged, as I sincerely trust you will be.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Results are in terms of bulk of precipitate, which must not be confused with percentage by weight.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The weight percentage can be found by referring to Purdy's tables, given later.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
That woman meant mischief, or she would never have dared to suggest that a British officer should throw in his lot with hers.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for throw weight

throw weight

noun

the maximum weight of supplementary mechanisms that can be lifted by the boost stages of a particular missile

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

Cultural definitions for throw weight

throw-weight

The size of the nuclear warhead or set of warheads that a missile, such as a ballistic missile, can carry. A nation might make up for the inaccuracy of its missiles by increasing their throw-weight.