to weigh on
- phrasal verb
- /weɪ ɑn/
- Yeah, but that embolism thing is weighing on me.
- weighs on my mind
Doopy could start really weighing on international trade.
- Doopy could start really weighing on international trade.
- Illness, isolation and insecurities weigh on all of us.
- And, and that and that really weighed on me.
- You know, debt is something that's it weighs on you.
- The thing about regret is that it weighs on your chest, just like those implants wait online.
- I couldn't imagine all those losses and all that guilt that weighs on her.
- But getting back to your point where seeing all that stuff, it weighs on you.
- And this can now lead to where they're always on your mind, they're always on your heart, they're always weighing on your spirit because there's something deeper there.
- The outcomes can weigh on you if you're highly invested in the patient's well-being and outcomes, and some people can manage that better than others.
Examples
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Is it weighing on your conscience?
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Doesn't it weigh on you that the world might be ending?
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Seriously, this has been weighing on my mind.
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I think it's been weighing on him.
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This has been weighing on me for some time.
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Does it weigh on you?
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Something is weighing on you.
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His seriousness led the student to believe that something was weighing on his mind.
Academic text (2005) -
There's something I've been meaning to tell you, something that's been weighing on me ever since our divorce.
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The recent events have been weighing on her heart, making her feel anxious and troubled.
Synonyms
Weigh heavily on someone, causing worry or distress
Make someone feel sad or worried
To create a dark, worrying feeling that stays with people
To make someone feel worried for a long time
Keep someone worried about something bad that might happen
Antonyms
How Burdensome
Surface Forms
Morphology
weigh + on
The meaning arises from a metaphorical extension of physical weight ('weigh') combined with the preposition 'on' indicating impact on someone; this mapping to mental burden is intuitive and found in many languages (e.g. 'pesar sobre'), so learners can often infer it. However, because it relies on a figurative transfer (weight → worry) rather than a strictly literal composition, it is not fully predictable for all B1 learners without some exposure.
Etymology
The phrasal verb weigh on comes from the image of a heavy object pressing down on someone: the verb weigh means to be heavy and on shows the weight is on you. So, when something 'weighs on' you it 'causes worry' or feels like a pressure on your mind.