dead weight

n.

1. The unrelieved weight of a heavy, motionless mass.
2. An oppressive burden or difficulty.
3. (Abbr. DW) The fixed weight of a structure or piece of equipment, such as a bridge on its supports. Also called dead load.

A heavy or oppressive burden, as in That police record will be a dead weight on his career. This term alludes to the unrelieved weight of an inert mass. [Early 1700s]

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a constant load on a structure (e.g. a bridge) due to the weight of the supported structure itself

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - dødvægt, belastning, udækket gældspost

Français (French)
n. - (Constr) poids mort, (Aut) poids utile

Deutsch (German)
n. - Taragewicht, Totgewicht, (ugs.) schwere Bürde

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - νεκρό βάρος, νεκρό φορτίο, βάρος άφορτου οχήματος, (μτφ.) επιβάρυνση, φόρτωμα, σαβούρα

Italiano (Italian)
tara

Português (Portuguese)
n. - peso (m) morto

Русский (Russian)
обуза, балласт

Español (Spanish)
n. - peso muerto, lastre, carga máxima, gran responsabilidad

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - betungande börda, dödvikt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
自重, 重负

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 自重, 重負

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 무거운 물건, 중량 화물, 무용지물

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 自重, 死荷重, どっしりと重い荷, 重荷

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮משא כבד‬

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