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Glite Dictionary
short hundredweight

short hundredweight

9.1
An American measure of weight equal to 100 pounds, about 45 kilograms
  • noun
  • /ʃɔrt ˈhʌndrədˌweɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cien libras
  • A short hundredweight is equal to 100 pounds.

Examples

  • The shipment was measured in short hundredweights to comply with U.S. trade standards.

  • They ordered five short hundredweights of steel for the project.

  • One short hundredweight of flour equals 100 pounds in America.

  • The package weighed a full short hundredweight.

  • A short hundredweight typically weighs 100 pounds in the U.S.

  • When buying produce, the vendor charged by the short hundredweight to determine the total price.

  • The truck was loaded with four short hundredweights of apples for the market.

Synonyms

hundredweight
vsshort hundredweight
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A weight of 100 pounds in the United States

is identical in meaning but represents a different or shortened form
cental
vsshort hundredweight
  • Archaic
9.9

A unit of weight in the United States equal to 100 pounds

is the same unit but used under a different traditional name
quintal
vsshort hundredweight
  • Archaic
9.9

A unit of weight equal to 100 pounds used for crops in the US

is identical in meaning but prefers a different term in usage
cwt
vsshort hundredweight
  • Specialized
9.9

A unit of weight equal to 100 pounds used in the United States

is the same unit but expressed as the full or nonabbreviated name

Surface Forms

short hundredweight singular
short hundredweights plural

Morphology

short + hundredweight

The phrase is compositionally built — 'short' modifies the measure 'hundredweight' to indicate the smaller/US variant equal to 100 pounds, so a learner who knows both constituents can largely infer the intended meaning. However, 'short' here is a technical label (contrast with 'long' or imperial measures) and measurement naming conventions are language-specific and potentially unfamiliar, so the sense is not fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

The term short hundredweight comes from old weight systems where a hundredweight was a common unit of weight. In the United States it was set at exactly 100 pounds, so the American version was called short to show it was the smaller kind, which is why the phrase now means '100 pounds'.