dead weight

Definitions

1. 1

   Unremitting heavy weight that does not move.

   • His dead weight, as he abruptly collapses, pulls his lapels from her hands, reminding her to step back, off-balancing whoever is behind her, […]
2. 2

   The largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry

   The largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry; i.e., the weight of a ship when fully loaded minus its weight when empty.

3. 3

   A dead load.

4. ›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      That which is useless or excess

      That which is useless or excess; that which slows something down.

      • She wants to shed the dead weight of so many stacks of old clutter.
      • For ten minutes he waited there, jabbed at by his nerves, with every minute mounting up a dead weight of suspense.
   2. 5

      The total (unpowered) weight of a train to be propelled (or hauled) by the locomotive

      The total (unpowered) weight of a train to be propelled (or hauled) by the locomotive; another locomotive being hauled dead as part of the train is a dead weight.

      • Having dropped the coach, the trio returned with the Class 47 leading and the other two locomotives as dead weight.
   3. 6

      With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely…

      With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely determined position.

      • He rolled the red in dead weight, and now he's nicely on the blue.
      • I had no escape other than trying to roll off a side cushion, just ahead of the middle pocket, and lay on a red, dead weight, about a foot from the pocket in open play.
      • I potted a really difficult cut red into the middle pocket, dropping it in dead weight and finishing on the pink for a 59 break that pretty much got me there.

The neighborhood