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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Outweigh: Definition, Examples, and Usage Guide (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：outweigh in importance (outweigh)

outweigh 🔊

/ˌaʊtˈweɪ/

vt.

To be more important or valuable than something else, especially when comparing advantages to disadvantages.

Balance scale with benefits outweighing costs in office setting

outweigh in importance 🔊

➕

/ˌaʊtˈweɪ ɪn ɪmˈpɔːrtəns/

vt.

To be more significant, valuable, or influential than something else when comparing benefits and drawbacks.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Out- (beyond) + weigh → to exceed in weight or importance.

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a scale: the 'out' side (more) weighs down the other. Outweigh = out + weigh.

📖 Example

The health benefits of regular exercise outweigh the minor inconvenience of finding time for it. 🔊 The health benefits of regular exercise outweigh the minor inconvenience of finding time for it.

🔗 Collocations

outweigh the risks – to be more important than the potential dangers

benefits outweigh costs – advantages are greater than expenses

far outweigh – to be much more significant than

🔄 Synonyms

surpass (vt.) – To exceed or go beyond in importance, quality, or degree.

override (vt.) – To be more important than and take precedence over something.

dominate (vt.) – To be the most important or powerful factor.

🚫 Antonyms

underestimate (vt.) – To judge something as less important than it actually is.

🌱 Derivatives

outweighing (adj.) – Being more important or heavier.

📖 Cultural Story

Old English 'ūtwegan' meant 'to outweigh physically'. By the 1500s, it was used metaphorically in trade and law to compare importance, a usage still dominant today.

Meaning 2：outweigh in weight (outweigh)

outweigh 🔊

/ˌaʊtˈweɪ/

vt.

To be heavier than something else in actual weight.

Close-up of scale with watermelon outweighing apples

outweigh in weight 🔊

➕

/ˌaʊtˈweɪ ɪn weɪt/

vt.

To have a greater physical weight than another object or person.

📁 Category：Objects & Materials 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

My suitcase outweighs yours by at least five kilograms. 🔊 My suitcase outweighs yours by at least five kilograms.

🔗 Collocations

outweigh by a pound – to be one pound heavier than

significantly outweigh – to be considerably heavier than

outweigh the other – to be heavier than the alternative item

🔄 Synonyms

exceed in weight (phrase) – To be heavier than something else.

overbalance (vi./vt.) – To cause to lose balance due to excess weight; to outweigh.

🚫 Antonyms

underweight (adj.) – Of less than the required or standard weight.