- To weigh down
- Weigh Weigh, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Weighed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Weighing}.] [OE. weien, weyen, weghen, AS. wegan to bear,
move; akin to D. wegen to weigh, G. w["a]gen, wiegen, to
weigh, bewegen to move, OHG. wegan, Icel. vega to move,
carry, lift, weigh, Sw. v["a]ga to weigh, Dan. veie, Goth.
gawigan to shake, L. vehere to carry, Skr. vah. ????. See
{Way}, and cf. {Wey}.]
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1. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up;
as, to weigh anchor. ``Weigh the vessel up.'' --Cowper.
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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. [1913 Webster]
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. --Dan. v. 27. [1913 Webster]
3. To be equivalent to in weight; to counterbalance; to have the heaviness of. ``A body weighing divers ounces.'' --Boyle. [1913 Webster]
4. To pay, allot, take, or give by weight. [1913 Webster]
They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. --Zech. xi. 12. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
A young man not weighed in state affairs. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
Had no better weighed The strength he was to cope with, or his own. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Regard not who it is which speaketh, but weigh only what is spoken. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]
In nice balance, truth with gold she weighs. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
Without sufficiently weighing his expressions. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
6. To consider as worthy of notice; to regard. [Obs. or Archaic] ``I weigh not you.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
All that she so dear did weigh. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
{To weigh down}. (a) To overbalance. (b) To oppress with weight; to overburden; to depress. ``To weigh thy spirits down.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.