Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Something added on a scale in order to meet a required weight.
- noun Something added only to fill a lack.
- noun A counterweight; a counterbalance.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Something put in a scale to increase a weight already in it; hence, that which adds weight to something not sufficiently heavy; a thing or person of little account made use of merely to make weight or to fill a gap.
- noun An adulterant, such as sand in sugar, used to increase the weight of a commodity.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun That which is thrown into a scale to make weight; something of little account added to supply a deficiency or fill a gap.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Something of
inferior quality which is included in ashipment to make up theweight . - noun Something included to add to the apparent weight or force of a argument.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a weight added to the scale to reach a required weight
- noun anything added to fill out a whole
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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They are on sale only in a very small number of kiosks, and are immediately snapped up by eager buyers, generally with a "makeweight" of non-saleable printed matter.
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The defenders Jeffrey Bruma or Patrick van Aanholt have been mentioned and Chelsea could explore involving as a makeweight the Serbia defender Slobodan Rajkovic, who is on loan at Vitesse Arnhem but does not qualify for a work permit in England.
Chelsea set to seal £21.5m deal for Benfica defender David Luiz 2011
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Chelsea remain determined to sign Luka Modric from Tottenham, meaning that Benayoun has found himself advanced in a makeweight in those negotiations.
Chelsea cash plus player bid for Liverpool's Raul Meireles rejected 2011
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Nemanja Matic, the London club's Serbian midfielder who is on loan at Vitesse Arnhem, is also involved as a makeweight in the David Luiz transfer but could potentially complete that move at the end of this campaign.
Chelsea's chase for Benfica's David Luiz hits snag over up-front fee 2011
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The dynamism and creativity James Milner provided last season is sorely missed and, to make things worse, the man who was a makeweight in that transfer and expected to fill the England international's boots, cannot even get on to the pitch.
Villa give Gérard Houllier little to cheer in draw with Birmingham Stuart James at Villa Park 2010
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Chelsea have had an offer rejected for the Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles of £7m plus Yossi Benayoun as a makeweight.
Chelsea cash plus player bid for Liverpool's Raul Meireles rejected 2011
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Marriage, in fact, is seen largely as a series of ratty exchanges in which couples gnaw away at past infidelities: even a makeweight couple, the Bradmans, who pop in periodically to provide ballast to the plot, scratch away at each other's failures.
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It is only 12 months since the infinitely more dynamic Samuel Eto'o was a makeweight in the ludicrously overpriced deal that took the Swedish striker to Barcelona, though you can tell Ibrahimovic might be on the move because Barcelona are insisting otherwise.
Cesc Fábregas moving to Barcelona is good business for Arsenal too 2010
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The silliness at the moment is all in the gossip and rumour, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic being touted as a makeweight in the deal that will take Fábregas to the Camp Nou.
Cesc Fábregas moving to Barcelona is good business for Arsenal too 2010
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Rumours that the striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be used as a makeweight in the deal show the silly season is here
Cesc Fábregas moving to Barcelona is good business for Arsenal too 2010
hernesheir commented on the word makeweight
I am particularly fond of the oleaginous variety of makeweight.
August 12, 2010