underweight

American  

[uhn-der-weyt, uhn-der-weyt] / ˈʌn dərˈweɪt, ˈʌn dərˌweɪt /

adjective

1. weighing less than is usual, required, or proper.

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noun

1. deficiency in weight below a standard or requirement.

underweight British  

/ ˌʌndəˈweɪt /

adjective

1. weighing less than is average, expected, or healthy

2. finance

   1. having a lower proportion of one's investments in a particular sector of the market than the size of that sector relative to the total market would suggest

   2. (of a fund etc) disproportionately invested in this way

      pension funds have become underweight of equities

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Etymology

Origin of underweight

First recorded in 1590–1600; under- + weight

Example Sentences

Boone was underweight, had sore ears and sore eyes when he first came into the RSPCA's care, Murphy explained.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Dan Pickering, chief investment officer of Pickering Energy Partners, puts it this way: “The more visible energy gets, the riskier an underweight position gets.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

The largest discrepancy appeared in the underweight group.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Treasurys from neutral to underweight, saying the U.S. bond market is the only one that is still pricing in Fed rate cuts.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

This particular summer afternoon, in a dusty geological library in Vienna, Sergeant Major von Rumpel follows an underweight secretary wearing brown shoes, brown stockings, a brown skirt, and a brown blouse through stacks of periodicals.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• malnourished
• starved
• undernourished