| weigh | 1. To have weight; to be heavy. "They only weigh the heavier." 2. To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance. "Your vows to her and me . . . Will even weigh." (Shak) "This objection ought to weigh with those whose reading is designed for much talk and little knowledge." (Locke) 3. To bear heavily; to press hard. "Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart." (Shak) 4. To judge; to estimate. "Could not weigh of worthiness aright." (Spenser) To weigh down, to sink by its own weight. 1. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up; as, to weigh anchor. "Weigh the vessel up." 2. To examine by the balance; to ascertain the weight of, that is, the force with which a thing tends to the center of the earth; to determine the heaviness, or quantity of matter of; as, to weigh sugar; to weigh gold. "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." (Dan. V. 27) 3. To be equivalent to in weight; to counterbalance; to have the heaviness of. "A body weighing divers ounces." 4. To pay, allot, take, or give by weight. "They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." (Zech. Xi. 12) 5. To examine or test as if by the balance; to ponder in the mind; to consider or examine for the purpose of forming an opinion or coming to a conclusion; to estimate deliberately and maturely; to balance. "A young man not weighed in state affairs." (Bacon) "Had no better weighed The strength he was to cope with, or his own." (Milton) "Regard not who it is which speaketh, but weigh only what is spoken." (Hooker) "In nice balance, truth with gold she weighs." (Pope) "Without sufficiently weighing his expressions." (Sir W. Scott) 6. To consider as worthy of notice; to regard. "I weigh not you." "All that she so dear did weigh." (Spenser) To weigh down. To overbalance. To oppress with weight; to overburden; to depress. "To weigh thy spirits down." Origin: OE. Weien, weyen, weghen, AS. Wegan to bear, move; akin to D. Wegen to weigh, G. Wagen, wiegen, to weigh, bewegen to move, OHG. Wegan, Icel. Vega to move, carry, lift, weigh, Sw. Vaga to weigh, Dan. Veie, Goth. Gawigan to shake, L. Vehere to carry, Skr. Vah. See Way, and cf. Wey. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| weighboard | <chemical> Clay intersecting a vein. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| weight | 1. 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. Weight differs from gravity in being the effect of gravity, or the downward pressure of a body under the influence of gravity; hence, it constitutes a measure of the force of gravity, and being the resultant of all the forces exerted by gravity upon the different particles of the body, it is proportional to the quantity of matter in the body. 2. 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. "For sorrow, like a heavy-hanging bell, once set on ringing, with his own weight goes." (Shak) 3. Hence, pressure; burden; as, the weight of care or business. "The weight of this said time." "For the public all this weight he bears." (Milton) "[He] who singly bore the world's sad weight." (Keble) 4. Importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness; as, a consideration of vast weight. "In such a point of weight, so near mine honor." (Shak) 5. A scale, or graduated standard, of heaviness; a mode of estimating weight; as, avoirdupois weight; troy weight; apothecaries' weight. 6. A ponderous mass; something heavy; as, a clock weight; a paper weight. "A man leapeth better with weights in his hands." (Bacon) 7. A definite mass of iron, lead, brass, or other metal, to be used for ascertaining the weight of other bodies; as, an ounce weight. 8. <mechanics> The resistance against which a machine acts, as opposed to the power which moves it. <chemistry> See Atomic, and cf. Element. Dead weight, Feather weight, Heavy weight, Light weight, etc. See Dead, Feather, etc. <astronomy> Weight of observation, a number expressing the most probable relative value of each observation in determining the result of a series of observations of the same kind. Synonym: Ponderousness, gravity, heaviness, pressure, burden, load, importance, power, influence, efficacy, consequence, moment, impressiveness. Origin: OE. Weght, wight, AS. Gewiht; akin to D. Gewigt, G. Gewicht, Icel. Vaett, Sw. Vigt, Dan. Vaegt. See Weigh. 1. 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. "The arrows of satire, . . . Weighted with sense." (Coleridge) 2. <astronomy> To assign a weight to; to express by a number the probable accuracy of, as an observation. See Weight of observations, under Weight. Origin: Weighted; Weighting. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| weight gain | Increase in body weight over existing weight. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weight lifting | A sport in which weights are lifted competitively or as an exercise. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weight loss | Decrease in existing body weight. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weight perception | Recognition and discrimination of the heaviness of a lifted object. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weight sense | The faculty of discriminating various degrees of pressure on the surface. Synonym: baresthesia, piesesthesia, weight sense. (05 Mar 2000) |
| weight-bearing | The physical state of supporting an applied load. This often refers to the weight-bearing bones or joints that support the body's weight, especially those in the spine, hip, knee, and foot. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weightlessness | Condition in which no acceleration, whether due to gravity or any other force, can be detected by an observer within a system. It also means the absence of weight or the absence of the force of gravity acting on a body. Microgravity, gravitational force between 0 and 10 -6 g, is included here. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weightlessness countermeasures | Techniques and routines designed to prevent or reverse unwanted effects of weightlessness experienced during actual and simulated space flight, including physiologic changes related to removal of gravitational loading. Specific measures include creation of artificial gravity, exercise, low-level lower body negative pressure, and use of anti-deconditioning devices. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weightlessness simulation | Condition under normal earth gravity where the force of gravity itself is not actually altered but its influence or effect may be modified and studied. (12 Dec 1998) |
| weights and measures | A unit or standard of measurement. (12 Dec 1998) |