Language Precision: Understanding Weight vs. Weigh

Weight and weight are two distinctive words used commonly in English while covering one another. Although they have a minor difference in spelling (i.e., “t” at the end of the weight and not of the weight), they have contrasting meanings. They have different contexts of usage as well.

Weigh is a verb, whereas weight is a noun (any action). As an example, Weigh yourself on the first day of the diet. It weighed at least 160 pounds.

The weight of an object is expressed in kilos or pounds. Weighing is the process of determining how many pounds or kilograms an object has.

In this article, I’ll be focusing on the comparison between these two terms, their correct usage, and their unique context. I’ll be addressing all the ambiguities I have regarding both these words, as people generally confuse them and replace them during their conversations. 

Let’s get started.

Weight And Weigh- Are They The Same?

They are not the same. Weighing is a verb while weight is a noun. Such as,

The package weighs two kilograms. (The verb “weigh” has been used here.)

O the other hand, weight is a proper noun.

If someone says, His body weight is 70.  (‘Weight’ is used as a noun in this context.)

Adding to that, the term “weight” is derived from the term “weigh.” “Weigh” is a weight-related term. The difference between weigh and weight as verbs is that “weigh” is used to determine the weight of an object, whereas “weight” is used to add weight to something to make it heavier.

How Do “Weigh” And “Weight” Differ From Each Other In Terms Of Nouns And Verb?

As a noun, “weight” refers to the force exerted on an object as a result of the gravitational attraction between it and the earth or any other object that is influenced by it. While “Weigh” is a scale or determination of the weight of something.

Weigh as a verb, it uses scales to determine the weight of (someone or something).

For example,

• The potatoes and tomatoes were weighed by the vendor.
• The twins weighed ten pounds when they were born.

In contrast to that, weight as a (noun); 

It’s a body’s relative mass or the amount of matter contained within it, producing a downward force; the heaviness of a person or thing.

For example:

• She dropped the bucket because she misjudged its weight.
• The weight of these apples is heavier than bananas.

So, these examples make us clear about the fact that weight and weigh are two different terms, with their contrast as a noun and a verb.

When Should You Use Weigh Or Weighs?

“Weight” is also a verb that means “to add or attach something heavy, to hold something down or balance it in a specific way. Hence, it is used to refer to adding weight to something or knowing how heavy a substance is.

As used in these sentences,

• I’m going to need some rocks to weigh down the tarp so it doesn’t blow away.
• Because these survey responses come from a more important category of respondents, you should weigh them more heavily in your analysis.
• Because it was improperly weighed the canoe kept tipping to the left.

The verb “weigh” can also have a similar meaning (but not identical) to the verb “weight,” which means “to be heavy or burdensome.”

“In his later years, he was plagued by constant feelings of guilt that weighed on his mood.” As used in this sentence, it is defining an action that is done, therefore used as a verb.

Do You Know About The Differences Between “Mass” And “Weight”?

Property of Differentiation	Mass	Weight
Definition	Mass is simply a measure of how much matter is in a body.	Weight is the amount of force acting on a mass as a result of gravity’s acceleration.
Unit of Measurement	The SI unit of mass is Kilogram (Kg).	The SI unit of weight is Newton (N).
Quantity Type	Mass is a base quantity also known as scalar	Weight is a derived quantity also called a vector as it has both magnitude and direction.
Formula	Mass = volume × density	Weight = mass × acceleration due to gravity
Denotation	It is denoted by “M”.	It is denoted by “W”.

How Do You Use The Word Weigh In A Sentence?

“Weight” is both a noun and a verb. So, if you want to know how much something weighs, you can weigh it on some scales. Weigh is also used more colloquially as a verb.

You can, for example, use idioms like:

I need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks, which means I need to weigh my options. Or When I first met him, I couldn’t quite weigh him, which meant I couldn’t quite figure him out.

All in all, we can say that Weight is both noun and a verb, while weigh is generally used as a verb.

What Are Weight And Weigh?

I’ll be talking about both these terms separately along with the examples.

Weight:

It is a proper noun. It refers to a scale. Weight is another property of an object. You might have heard this a lot of times,

• How much weight does he have?
• His height is 5’10” and he weighs 160 pounds.

Hence, by looking at these commonly used sentences, we can determine the meaning of weight.

Weigh:

This can be used as a verb: I’d like you to weigh this sugar for me. It can also be used as an object property such as,

• What is the weight of this?
• This thing weighs 5 pounds.

What Is The Best Way To Use The Verb “Weigh”?

There are many ways of using the term “weigh”. Yet, the best of them are described here. The scale displays your weight when you weigh in or put an object over the scale to know its weight.

In sailing terms, anchor weighing is a thing while the anchor is considered a weight. Weigh is a verb, not a noun. You use a scale to weigh things.

On the other hand, weight is a noun, not a verb. Anything on the scale represents a weight.

What Are The Differences Between Weight And Weigh?

The distinction between “weigh” and “weight” as verbs. The difference is that weight is used to determine the weight of an object, whereas weight is used to add weight to something to make it heavier.

To summarize, weight is a noun that refers to the measurement of an object or body. Weigh is the verb form used to describe the action of measuring an object or body.

Is It Weighed, Or Is It Weighted?

Weighed is the correct word. Weighted is an accurate word with no sense at all.

It is used by beginners who think that the verb for “Weight” is “Weighted”. But that’s not the case.

“Weigh” is the correct form of the verb to be used to refer to something that is being weighed on a scale or sometimes used to describe the effect or load of any feeling or substance.

For example, “the end-of-year figures were weighted to make the company look good.” Something is weighed when it is placed on a scale and its weight is determined.

What Is The Distinction Between “Weigh” And “Weight” When Used As Verbs?

To weigh something means determining its weight with a weighing device such as a scale. A standard bathroom scale can be used to weigh a person.

In other words, to weigh something is to give it physical or mathematical weight. Some papers may be weighted down by placing a heavy object on top of them, or a weighted average may be calculated.

As a verb, “weigh” has at least seven different meanings. The most common is “to determine the weight of using scales or another machine, or to balance in the hands to guess the weight of.” The verb “weigh” means “to fasten a weight to, or to restrain with a weight or weights, or to obstruct or burden with a heavy load.”

The connotations are quite different.

There is, however, a phrasal verb “to weight down,” which has a similar meaning to “to weight.”

It means “to bring down by weight.” “The ripe fruit weighed down the branch,” or (figuratively), “He was weighed down by his troubles.” It’s not quite the same as saying, “I weighed the body.”

When Should Weight Be Used As A Verb Instead Of Weighed?

You weigh something if you want to know how much it weighs.

If you want to use the weight in some way, weigh whatever you’re doing. Because weighing things is uncommon, you don’t need to say it very often. You could weigh something down to keep it in place.

This is a ton. You’re weighting if you’re using a weight. But the term used will be “weigh or weighed.’

Is It More Formal To Say “Something Weighing Heavily On My mind” Or “Something Weighing Heavily On My Mind”?

The word “weighing” is a verb. As a result, whatever modifies it is an adverb.

While the word “heavy” is an adjective.

Contrary to that, the word “heavily” is an adverb. It ends in-ly, as do most adverbs. As a result, “heavily” is the correct word in this case.

It’s not the same as if we say that I have weighed the luggage before boarding, yet it’s close to that.

Final Thoughts

To conclude, weight and weight are separate words with contrasting meanings. Weigh is a verb that means determining how heavy something is. It may be an object, a feeling, or a piece of machinery.

On the other hand, “weight” is an abstract noun that refers to the number of heaviness units (grams, kilograms, tons, and so on) that something is measured during the weighing process.

Thus, both of these terms have already been differentiated in detail. I’ve also discussed the FAQs related to these terms and their most pondered ambiguities. Detailed reading will help you differentiate in a better way.

If you want to clear a common misconception regarding the usage of male and man, this article will do the job for you: Male VS Man: Knowing The Proper Use (When & How)

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Click here for more summarized information of these grammatical terms through this web story.