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to weight down

to weight down

4 4.1
To make someone or something heavy by giving them more to carry
  • phrasal verb
  • /weɪt daʊn/
translation icon : cargar
  • So that the paper wouldn't fly away, I weighted down the corners with small rocks.
  • Keep your weight down
  • feel weighted down
  • get your weight down

Examples

  • Large rocks weighted down the ends of the branches, and vines tied them together.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • A floundering man, weighted down by wet buckskins, reached the bank and held up a hand.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Next thing I need to do is to put these into here and we need to weigh them down to stop them from floating.

  • So I found that the best thing to weight down these petals was a glass Pyrex container.

  • Then go around the edges and pat down the sand to weigh down the sides and then fill it up with water and you have yourself a really cute baby pool.

  • Student backpacks are already weighted down by textbooks and supplies.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The pine trees were enormous, weighted down by Spanish moss that waved in the wind like witches' hair.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • A horse-drawn cart weighted down with gold bricks careens around a corner.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The snow is sometimes up as high as Little Lefty's waist, and he's so weighted down with clothes and wetness that he can't keep on top of it.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Piles of papers were weighted down against the Vengeful Widow by large shells, pestles, and chunks of fossilized stone.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

to burden
vsto weight down
77 3.7

To give someone a heavy load or a difficult task

is mainly about adding physical load rather than assigning responsibility
to drag down
vsto weight down
29 4.0

To pull something down by weight or force

is about adding extra mass to make heavy rather than pulling to force motion
to weight
vsto weight down
23 4.4

To press down with a heavy load

is about making someone or something heavy by adding extra mass
to weigh down
vsto weight down
4 3.6

Make something heavier so it bends or sinks

focuses on creating a general burden rather than bending or sinking
to bear down
vsto weight down
2 7.0

Press hard on something or make it feel heavy

focuses on making heavy by adding items rather than simply applying pressure
to load down
vsto weight down
  • Informal
1 4.2

To make someone or something carry too many heavy things

focuses on adding extra mass rather than the quantity that restricts movement
to burthen
vsto weight down
  • Archaic
9.9

To weigh down with a heavy load or worry

is the modern neutral term for adding physical load rather than archaic usage

Antonyms

26 2.5

To make a load or worry feel less heavy

6 4.9

To remove a heavy load from someone, physical or emotional, often by talking

How Heavy

to weight down
4 4.1
to load
572 1.0
to lighten
26 2.5

Surface Forms

weight down infinitive
weighted down past participle
weighting down present participle
weights down third person singular

Morphology

weight + down

The meaning 'to make heavy or burdened' is directly and compositionally derived from 'weight' (to burden or add mass) plus 'down' (indicating downward direction or increased load). This follows a common English verb+particle pattern (cf. 'weigh down'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Weight down comes from a simple picture: extra weight pushing something down so it becomes heavy and hard to move. So, the phrase now means 'to make someone or something heavy or burdened'.