free weight
5
3.4
- noun
- /fri weɪt/
- Many people prefer to use free weights rather than machines for their workouts.
- use of free weights
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Watch on YouTubeI don't think you can lift free weights and expect, you know, that.
- I don't think you can lift free weights and expect, you know, that.
- So it's an hour with my trainer, Sean, who does mostly a combination of of weights and stretching, some free weights, some machines.
- That could be weight training with machines or free weights, but it could also again be push ups, pull ups, dips, jump squats, the ability to jump.
- Nothing's going to be resistance training, free weights, nothing.
- I do, I, well, I do, I, I have a trainer and I do, I do free weights and, but I do lighter weights just to stay toned.
Examples
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George is lifting some free weights.
Fiction book (1999) -
I am down almost 20 lbs, and we have begun lots of free weights along with my cardio.
Blog text (8) -
Do you use free weights?
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Oh, so no free weights?
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I'll do some free weights and maybe jump rope.
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Dean Lowell was working with free weights.
Fiction book (1995) -
I used to be so intimidated by the free weights, so I know where you're coming from.
Blog text (10) -
Perhaps you will use the exercise bike your ex-husband left behind, or the Nordic Track, or the free weights.
Fiction book (1997) -
Even short guys can be muscular, just by regularly lifting free weights in a gym and paying attention to their diet.
Blog text (28) -
There are two different kinds: free weights (barbells, dumbbells, and hand weights) and weight machines.
Blog text (2)
Synonyms
139
1.0
A heavy object used for exercise or to hold things down
17
2.9
A short metal bar with a weight at each end that people use to exercise arms, shoulders, and chest
How Fixed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a weight that is not attached to a machine' is directly and compositionally derived from 'free' (not fixed/attached) + 'weight' (a heavy item). This is a literal, standard noun + modifier pattern common across languages and follows regular English noun modification, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Free weight comes from the clear image of a weight that is free to move because it is not fixed to a machine. You lift the dumbbell or barbell with your hands and it can move in any direction, so the phrase means 'a weight not attached to a machine'.