Definition

Verb phrase: - To have importance, influence, or authority. When something or someone "carries weight," their opinions, decisions, or actions are considered significant and can affect outcomes.

Usage and Examples

• General Influence: Used to describe a person, group, or argument that is respected and persuasive.
  • Her endorsement carries a lot of weight with the committee.
  • In this company, experience carries more weight than a degree.
• Legal or Formal Authority: Indicates that a rule, precedent, or decision is authoritative and must be considered.
  • The Supreme Court's ruling carries great weight in lower courts.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Degree of Influence: Often modified by adjectives like , , , , , or to specify the level of influence.
  • His promises carry little weight anymore.
  • The testimony of an eyewitness carries considerable weight with the jury.
• Contextual Weight: The influence is always relative to a specific context or group.
  • His opinion carries no weight in financial matters, but in technical discussions, it is crucial.

Variants and Related Words

• Weighty (adj): Having great weight, importance, or seriousness.
  • A weighty argument.
• Carry the day (idiom): To be victorious or to win an argument.
  • Her compelling evidence carried the day.

Synonyms

• Be influential
• Be authoritative
• Count for something
• Have clout (informal)
• Have sway

Antonyms

• Be insignificant
• Carry no weight
• Have no influence
• Be inconsequential

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Pull one's weight: To do one's fair share of the work.
  • Everyone on the team needs to pull their weight.
• Throw one's weight around: To use one's authority or influence in an aggressive, bullying way.
  • The new manager started throwing his weight around immediately.
• Worth its weight in gold: Extremely valuable or useful.
  • A reliable assistant is worth their weight in gold.

Verb

1. have influence to a specified degree
   • Her opinion carries a lot of weight