1
: the unrelieved weight of an inert mass
2
3
: a ship's load including the total weight of cargo, fuel, stores, crew, and passengers
Examples of deadweight in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Losing that 200 pounds of deadweight freed me up to focus on advancing my career.
—
R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2025
Losing that 200 pounds of deadweight has freed me up to focus on advancing my career.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship would add deadweight costs to the economy and financially harm people least likely to possess spare resources.
—Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
This misallocation of resources results in productive inefficiency and a deadweight loss — a reduction in overall economic welfare that benefits neither producers nor consumers.
—Richard Menger Md Mpa, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadweight
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R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2025
Losing that 200 pounds of deadweight has freed me up to focus on advancing my career.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
The Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship would add deadweight costs to the economy and financially harm people least likely to possess spare resources.
—Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
This misallocation of resources results in productive inefficiency and a deadweight loss — a reduction in overall economic welfare that benefits neither producers nor consumers.
—Richard Menger Md Mpa, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadweight
Cite this Entry
“Deadweight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadweight. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deadweight
noun
dead·weight
ˈded-ˈwāt 
: the full weight of a mass that is not moving
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