weigh

¹ American  

[way] / weɪ /

verb (used with object)

• weighs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• weighed,
  past participle,  past
• weighing
  present participle

1. to determine or ascertain the force that gravitation exerts upon (a person or thing) by use of a balance, scale, or other mechanical device.

   to weigh oneself; to weigh potatoes; to weigh gases.

2. to hold up or balance, as in the hand, in order to estimate the weight.

3. to measure, separate, or apportion (a certain quantity of something) according to weight (usually followed byout ).

   to weigh out five pounds of sugar.

4. to make heavy; increase the weight or bulk of; weight.

   We weighed the drapes to make them hang properly.

5. to evaluate in the mind; consider carefully in order to reach an opinion, decision, or choice.

   to weigh the facts; to weigh a proposal.

   Synonyms:

   contemplate, ponder

6. Archaic. to raise, lift, or hoist (something).

7. Obsolete. to think important; esteem.

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verb (used without object)

• weighs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• weighed,
  past participle,  past
• weighing
  present participle

1. to have weight or a specified amount of weight.

   to weigh less; to weigh a ton.

2. to have importance, moment, or consequence.

   Your recommendation weighs heavily in his favor.

3. to bear down as a weight or burden (usually followed by on orupon ).

   Responsibility weighed upon her.

4. to consider carefully or judicially.

   to weigh well before deciding.

5. (of a ship) to raise the anchor and get under way.

   The ship weighed early and escaped in the fog.

verb phrase

1. weigh down

   1. to cause to become bowed under a weight.

      snow and ice weighing down the trees.

   2. to lower the spirits of; burden; depress.

      This predicament weighs me down.

2. weigh in

   1. (of a boxer or wrestler) to be weighed by a medical examiner on the day of a bout.

   2. to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.

      He weighed in at 170 pounds.

   3. (of a jockey) to be weighed with the saddle and weights after a race.

   4. Informal. to offer an opinion, advice, support, etc., especially in a forceful or authoritative way.

      The chairman weighed in with an idea for the fundraiser.

3. weigh out (of a jockey)

   1. to be weighed with the saddle and weights before a race.

   2. to be of the weight determined by such a weighing.

idioms

1. weigh one's words. word.

2. weigh anchor, to heave up a ship's anchor in preparation for getting under way.

weigh ² American  

[way] / weɪ /

idioms

1. under weigh, in motion; under way.

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weigh ¹ British  

/ weɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to measure the weight of

2. (intr) to have weight or be heavy

   she weighs more than her sister

3. to apportion according to weight

4. (tr) to consider carefully

   to weigh the facts of a case

5. (intr) to be influential

   his words weighed little with the jury

6. to be oppressive or burdensome (to)

7. obsolete to regard or esteem

8. to raise a vessel's anchor or (of a vessel) to have its anchor raised preparatory to departure

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weigh ² British  

/ weɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of under way

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Synonym Usage

See study.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• weigher
  noun
• unweighable
  adjective
• unweighing
  adjective
• weighable
  adjective
• well-weighed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• weighing
  present
• weighed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• weigh
  simple
• weighs
  simple
• have weighed
  perfect
• has weighed
  perfect
• am weighing
  progressive
• are weighing
  progressive
• is weighing
  progressive
• have been weighing
  perfect progressive
• has been weighing
  perfect progressive

Past

• weighed
  simple
• had weighed
  perfect
• was weighing
  progressive
• were weighing
  progressive
• had been weighing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will weigh
  simple
• will have weighed
  perfect
• will be weighing
  progressive
• will have been weighing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of weigh¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English weien, wein, weighen, Old English wegan “to carry, weigh”; cognate with Dutch wegen, German wägen, Old Norse vega; akin to Latin vehere “to carry, convey”

Origin of weigh²

First recorded in 1775–85; spelling variant of way ¹ by association with weigh anchor

Explanation

To weigh is all about judging; you could be seeing how heavy something is or if it is a good choice. You could weigh the tomatoes you're buying or weigh your options when applying to college. To weigh something can mean to physically assess its weight — is it 3 pounds? 40 kilos? 22 grams? But it's no accident that the symbol for justice is often a scale. That's because all of the facts of a case need to be weighed or evaluated for justice to be served. And hopefully the decision will be balanced and fair.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weigh weighs weighed weighing

Greenland sharks weigh in at one ton and reaching up to 23 feet in length.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

Post your questions, weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns or email The Moneyist on [email protected].

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

U.S. stock futures fell and Treasury yields rose in early European trade, as rising oil prices and a fresh artificial-intelligence wobble combined to weigh on sentiment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Fraser acknowledged this is an issue that the Supreme Court could weigh on in the future.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The gear will just weigh us down, and we at least need to try to find them before eking out a life inside caves and eating lake vines.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The central star has approximately 85 times the mass of Jupiter, while the brown dwarf weighs about 25 Jupiter masses.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026

But as Starbucks reportedly weighs a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, you could end up getting both from one massive, taco-pumpkin-spice-latte conglomerate.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Dalvin Brown details how the rule works and weighs the pros and cons for families deciding between earlier payouts and bigger lifetime checks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Meta Platforms stock advances as Wall Street weighs in on the Facebook-parent’s consumer AI agent.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Helmuth weighs this answer, tries hard to determine if reading a banned book could harm another person.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

A lawyer for the residents' group claimed the commission's decision was flawed over how it weighed up the potential for disorder if the parade was permitted.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Those benefits should be weighed alongside the value of the unpaid care she is providing and the career opportunities she says she has sacrificed.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

“In addition to lower volumes and weaker mix, we expect profitability to be weighed down by higher raw material costs, increased depreciation and amortization, and elevated supplier-related expenses.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

In 1854, one “nugget” found on Carson Hill, about 100 miles south of Coloma along the Mother Lode mineral belt, weighed 195 pounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Also to show how strong he was, to lift a suitcase that probably weighed more than he did.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Wall Street is weighing in on the competitive risk once more.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

A fresh aircraft-carrier strike group and Marine expeditionary unit are steaming toward the Middle East, and the Pentagon is weighing sending additional air-defense equipment and munitions to bases in the region, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

India's benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell with investors weighing the implications of higher borrowing costs for consumption and corporate investment.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The International Court of Justice is currently weighing whether the campaign constituted genocide, a charge the military has always denied.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

I thought I could see a tortured look in his eyes, a weighing of whether or not he should say something to me.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• analyze
• balance
• estimate
• evaluate
• examine
• ponder