light welterweight
- noun
- /laɪt ˈwɛltərweɪt/
- Specialized
- During the last match, the light welterweight boxer delivered a powerful punch that stunned his opponent.
Examples
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"He's young and confident," the former four-time world light welterweight champion explained.
Blog text (17) -
The athlete won the championship in the light welterweight division, impressing everyone with his speed and agility.
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She has been training rigorously to compete in the light welterweight category at the upcoming tournament.
Synonyms
A boxer who fights in a weight class up to 140 pounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
light + welterweight
The meaning 'a weight division lighter than welterweight' is directly derivable from combining 'light' (indicating a lighter version) with 'welterweight' (a weight class). The modifier pattern (light + [weight class]) is productive in sports terminology and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.
Etymology
Light welterweight comes from boxing names that join light and welterweight to show a boxer who is a bit lighter than a welterweight. So it means 'a boxer who weighs no more than 140 pounds (63.5 kilograms)'.