TOP

Definition of weigh verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

weigh

verb
 
/weɪ/
 
/weɪ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they weigh
 
/weɪ/
 
/weɪ/
he / she / it weighs
 
/weɪz/
 
/weɪz/
past simple weighed
 
/weɪd/
 
/weɪd/
past participle weighed
 
/weɪd/
 
/weɪd/
-ing form weighing
 
/ˈweɪɪŋ/
 
/ˈweɪɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
jump to other results
  1. linking verb + noun to have a particular weight
    • How much do you weigh (= how heavy are you)?
    • She weighs 60 kilos.
    • A healthy baby usually weighs 6 lbs or more.
    • The average male tiger weighs around 200 kg.
    • The diamond weighs 4.50 carats.
    • (informal) These cases weigh a ton (= are very heavy).
    Topics Maths and measurementb1
  2. [transitive] weigh somebody/something/yourself to measure how heavy somebody/something is, usually by using scales
    • He weighed himself on the bathroom scales.
    • Chicks were weighed and measured daily.
    • She weighed the stone in her hand (= estimated how heavy it was by holding it).
    Topics Cooking and eatingb1, Maths and measurementb1
  3. [transitive] to consider something carefully before making a decision
    • weigh something (up) You must weigh up the pros and cons (= consider the advantages and disadvantages of something).
    • She weighed up all the evidence.
    • You'll need to weigh up all your options.
    • The jury weighed up the evidence carefully.
    • weigh (up) something against something I weighed the benefits of the plan against the risks involved.
    • We weighed the cost of advertising against the likely gains from increased business.
    Topics Preferences and decisionsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • carefully
    • up
    preposition
    • against
    See full entry
  4. [intransitive] weigh (with somebody) (against somebody/something) to have an influence on somebody’s opinion or the result of something
    • His past record weighs heavily against him.
    • The evidence weighs in her favour.
    Extra Examples
    • This fact weighed heavily in her favour.
    • His untidy appearance weighed against him.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • heavily
    • strongly
    preposition
    • against
    • in favour/​favor of
    • with
    See full entry
  5. [transitive] weigh anchor to lift an anchor out of the water and into a boat before sailing away
  6. Word OriginOld English wegan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wegen ‘weigh’, German bewegen ‘move’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin vehere ‘convey’. Early senses included ‘transport from one place to another’ and ‘raise up’.
Idioms
weigh your words
  1. to choose your words carefully so that you say exactly what you mean
    • He spoke slowly, weighing his words.
See weigh in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee weigh in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 3000
B1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day