Way or weigh?
way is a noun meaning “A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another”; weigh is a verb meaning “To determine the weight of an object”. Use way as a noun and weigh as a verb (weigh is also a noun: “The act of weighing, of measuring the weight”). They sound the same (/weɪ/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) way is about 105 times as common as weigh.
What is the difference between way and weigh?
| way | weigh | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, interjection, verb, adverb, adjective, suffix | verb, noun |
| Meaning | A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another A means to enter or leave a place informalFar | To determine the weight of an object Often with "out", to measure a certain amount of something by its weight, e.g. for sale The act of weighing, of measuring the weight |
| Example | Do you know the way to the airport? Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut | He weighed out two kilos of oranges for a client |
| Forms | ways | weighs, weighing, weighed |
| Pronunciation | /weɪ/ /wɛj/ [weː] | /weɪ/ |
| In writing | 1,023 times per million words | 9.8 times per million words |
Sources: way and weigh in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of way and weigh
way
- 1
A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another
Do you know the way to the airport? Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut
- 2
slangYes; it is true; it is possible
- 3
informalFar
I used to live way over there
- 4
informalExtreme, far
Sitting in the way back of the bus
- 5
The letter for the w sound in Pitman shorthand
- 6
Dated spelling of way (“much; far”)
- 7
Alternative spelling of away
- 8
Alternative spelling of away
weigh
- 1
To determine the weight of an object
- 2
The act of weighing, of measuring the weight
Give the sugar a quick weigh
- 3
Often with "out", to measure a certain amount of something by its weight, e.g. for sale
He weighed out two kilos of oranges for a client
- 4
To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate
You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting
- 5
To consider a subject
- 6
To have a certain weight
I weigh ten and a half stone
- 7
To have weight; to be heavy; to press down
- 8
To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, way or weigh?
way appears 1,023 times per million words; weigh 9.8 times per million words.
way 1,023 times per million wordsweigh 9.8 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).