Definition

Noun: A weighbridge is a large, heavy-duty scale set into the ground or a platform, flush with a road surface, used for weighing entire vehicles and their loads, such as trucks, trailers, or livestock.

Usage

A weighbridge is a permanent or semi-permanent industrial scale. Its primary function is to determine the gross weight of a vehicle or the net weight of its cargo by weighing the vehicle both loaded and empty. It is a critical tool in logistics, shipping, agriculture (for weighing cattle), waste management, and industries where precise weight measurement of heavy loads is required for safety, billing, or regulatory compliance.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The truck driver stopped at the weighbridge before entering the highway to ensure his load was within legal limits.
  • The recycling center uses a weighbridge to calculate charges based on the weight of incoming waste.
  • Farmers use a weighbridge to get an accurate weight for their livestock before sale.

Advanced Usage

• "To be taken over a weighbridge": Refers to the process of a vehicle being driven onto the scale for an official weight measurement, often for verification or enforcement purposes.
  • The transport company's entire fleet is regularly taken over the weighbridge for compliance checks.

Variants and Related Words

• Weigh station (n): A facility, often along a highway, containing a weighbridge where commercial vehicles are inspected and weighed.
• Platform scale (n): A more general term for a large scale with a low, flat platform for weighing heavy or bulky objects.
• Axle weigher (n): A different type of scale that measures the weight on individual axles or groups of axles, as opposed to the entire vehicle at once like a weighbridge.

Synonyms

• Truck scale (n): A common synonym, especially in American English.
• Vehicle scale (n): A descriptive synonym.

Related Phrases

• To weigh in: (Contextually related) To have one's weight determined, often used in sports (e.g., boxing) or for vehicles at a weighbridge.
  • The lorry weighed in at 40 tonnes fully loaded.

Noun

1. platform scale flush with a roadway for weighing vehicles and cattle etc