counterweight

C2+ Topic:Mathematics & Measurement

US /ˈkaʊntɚˌweɪt/ UK /ˈkaʊntəweɪt/ See IPA manual

noun verb

Meanings

1

noun
a weight that balances another force or load

The elevator's counterweight glides downward as the car rises.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a weight that balances... counterbalance counterpoise ballast offset

Word family

Related forms counter weight counterbalance

Etymology

From 'counter-' ('against, opposite') plus 'weight'. 'Weight' is from Old English 'wiht' ('weight'), from the verb 'wegan' ('to carry, weigh').

contra Latin gewiht Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mathematics & Measurement

# counterweight

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈkaʊntɚˌweɪt
**IPA (UK):** ˈkaʊntəweɪt

## Meanings
1. a weight that balances another force or load

## Examples
- The elevator's counterweight glides downward as the car rises.

## Synonyms
- counterbalance
- counterpoise
- ballast
- offset

## Related Forms
- counter
- weight
- counterbalance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contra
- Root: gewiht

## Etymology
From 'counter-' ('against, opposite') plus 'weight'. 'Weight' is from Old English 'wiht' ('weight'), from the verb 'wegan' ('to carry, weigh').

## AI Etymology
Counterweight is from 'counter-' ('against, opposite') plus 'weight'. 'Weight' is from Old English 'wiht' ('weight'), from the verb 'wegan' ('to carry, weigh'). The ancestry passes through Latin contra and Old English gewiht. The prefix counter- contributes opposition, response, or matching action, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as noun and verb, it means "a weight that balances another force or load", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include counter, weight, and counterbalance.

## Topics
- Mathematics & Measurement

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counterweight

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