weigh
/weɪ/verb, noun
weigh is spelled W-E-I-G-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “weigh vs weight” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, weigh means “To determine the weight of an object” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in weigh?
| Letters | 5: W-E-I-G-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.8 times per million words; the 7,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is weigh?
Weigh appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce weigh?
- /weɪ/
Weigh has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-weigh.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with weigh
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: Wei, way, wey (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of weigh
- weighs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- weighing participle, present
- weighed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does weigh mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To determine the weight of an object.
- 2
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.
- 3
To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
- 4
obsoleteTo judge; to estimate.
- 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.
noun
- 1
The act of weighing, of measuring the weight
Give the sugar a quick weigh.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Weigh in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | peser , lever l’ancre |
| German | wiegen, wägen , abwiegen, auswiegen , abwägen , erwägen |
| Portuguese | pesar , desancorar, levantar âncora , avaliar |
| Spanish | pesar , levar, desancorar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does weigh come from?
From Middle English weyen, from Old English wegan, from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).