“weights” is a form of
weight
/weɪt/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms weights weighting weighted wt. waight
- noun The downwards force an object experiences due to gravity.
- noun An object used to make something heavier.
- noun A standardized block of metal used in a balance to measure the mass of another object.
- noun (figurative) Importance or influence.
- noun (exercise, weightlifting) An object, such as a weight plate or barbell, used for strength training. “He's working out with weights. Weight-bearing exercise is now understood to be just as important as cardio.”
- noun (lubricants) Viscosity rating.
- noun (physics) Mass (atomic weight, molecular weight, etc.) (in restricted circumstances).
- noun (physics, proscribed) Synonym of mass (in general circumstances).
- verb (transitive) To add weight to something; to make something heavier.
- verb (transitive, dyeing) To load (fabrics) with barite, etc. to increase the weight.
- verb (transitive) To load, burden or oppress someone.
- verb (transitive, mathematics) To assign weights to individual statistics.
- verb (transitive) To bias something; to slant. “The criteria governing the choice of candidate were heavily weighted in his favor.”
- verb (transitive, horse racing) To handicap a horse with a specified weight.
- verb (transitive, sports) To give a certain amount of force to a throw, kick, hit, etc.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
black iron mass free weight exercising weight weightiness system of weights weight unit weighting burden burthen weight down slant angle
Etymology
From Middle English weight, weiȝte, weght, wight, from Old English wiht, ġewiht (“weight”), from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz ("weight"; compare *weganą (“to move”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move; pull; draw; drive”). Equivalent to weigh + -t (abstract nominal suffix).
Cognate with Scots wecht, weicht (“weight”), Saterland Frisian Wächte (“scale”), Gewicht (“weight”), West Frisian gewicht (“weight”), Dutch gewicht (“weight”), German Low German Wicht, Gewicht (“weight”), German Wucht (“massiveness, force”), Gewicht (“weight”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The quality of being heavy; that property of bodies by which they tend toward the center of the earth; the effect of gravitative force, especially when expressed in certain units or standards, as pounds, grams, etc.
- noun The quantity of heaviness; comparative tendency to the center of the earth; the quantity of matter as estimated by the balance, or expressed numerically with reference to some standard unit; as, a mass of stone having the weight of five hundred pounds.
- verb To load with a weight or weights; to load down; to make heavy; to attach weights to; as, to weight a horse or a jockey at a race; to weight a whip handle.
- verb To assign a weight to; to express by a number the probable accuracy of, as an observation. See Weight of observations, under Weight.
Etymology [OE. weght, wight, AS. gewiht; akin to D. gewigt, G. gewicht, Icel. vætt, Sw. vigt, Dan. vægt. See Weigh, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “weight”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details