deadweight

noun

dead·​weight ˈded-ˈwāt How to pronounce deadweight (audio)
1
: the unrelieved weight of an inert mass
2
3
: a ship's load including the total weight of cargo, fuel, stores, crew, and passengers

Examples of deadweight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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That represented 68% of the vessels when measured by deadweight, and the lowest number of tankers tracked with IG club insurance, surpassing 67% uninsured recorded in July and August. Lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024 Getting rid of deadweight and dealing with unsatisfactory situations will lighten your burden and make room for investing more time in yourself and what brings you joy. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2024 Taken together, if VIPER fails to fly, the agency will have spent about $800 million to send literal deadweight to the moon instead. Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 24 July 2024 But Iggy Azalea is deadweight on the song, with her blaccent and school-assignment-level rhymes. Justin Curto, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deadweight 

Word History

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of deadweight was in 1659

Dictionary Entries Near deadweight

Cite this Entry

“Deadweight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadweight. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

deadweight

noun
dead·​weight ˈded-ˈwāt How to pronounce deadweight (audio)
: the full weight of a mass that is not moving

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