# weigh

> English word · Verb · IPA /weɪ/ · frequency rank #7,303

## Definitions
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.
3. To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
4. To judge; to estimate.
5. To consider a subject.
6. To have a certain weight.
7. To have weight; to be heavy; to press down.
8. To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
9. To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
10. To weigh anchor.
11. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up.
12. To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.

## Etymology
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”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots wey, wee, Dutch wegen, German wiegen, wägen, Danish veje, Norwegian Bokmål veie, Norwegian Nynorsk vega. Doublet of wedge, wagon, way, and vector.

## Easily confused with
- **wig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wig)
- **with** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-with)
- **wish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wish)
- **weir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weir)
- **wigs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wigs)
- **whig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-whig)
- **wich** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wich)
- **which** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-which)
- **weird** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weird)
- **Welsh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-welsh)
- **Weiss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weiss)
- **welch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-welch)
- **wight** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wight)
- **wench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wench)
- **weight** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weight)
- **wright** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-wright)
- **weighs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weighs)
- **weights** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weights)
- **weighed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weighed)
- **weighty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weigh-vs-weighty)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ewigh`, `wegih`, `weiggh`, `weighh`, `weihg`, `wiegh`, `wweigh`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/weigh