weights

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A collection of heavy objects, such as dumbbells or barbells, used for exercise and building muscle strength.

   The coach started every session with a warm-up before the athletes touched the weights.

   Beginners should learn proper form with light weights before adding more load.

   Note

   A gym word that lives in the plural. Athletes lift weights, train with weights, and start on light weights. The singular names one plate or barbell, while the plural names the whole kit, so "the weights" can mean everything in the room at once. Light and heavy are the usual qualifiers, and they describe the load being moved rather than the size of the objects.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of weight.

   The shipping clerk recorded the weights of all the parcels.

   Two materials of the same size can have very different weights.

   Note

   One spelling serves two parts of speech: the noun plural here, and the verb form in "she weights the data." As a plural it gathers several meanings of weight: the measured heaviness of parcels, the standard blocks set on a balance, and viscosity ratings. The gym meaning has drifted far enough to stand on its own as the exercise equipment.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of weight.

   The algorithm weights recent data more heavily than older entries.

   He weights each corner of the tarp to keep it from blowing away.

   Note

   Every use of the verb takes an object, because something is always being weighted. A load (he weights the tarp's corners) and a statistic (the algorithm weights recent data) share the form with trades of their own. A racing handicapper weights a horse, and a mill weights fabric with barite. Paired with an adverb like heavily, it easily slides toward biasing or slanting a result.

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