lightweight

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   weighing less than average or less than comparable objects of the same kind

   Engineers chose a lightweight alloy to reduce the aircraft's fuel use.

2. 2
   adj

   lacking seriousness, depth, importance, or influence

   The editor rejected the article as a lightweight treatment of a complex issue.

3. 3
   noun

   a competitor in a relatively light weight class, especially the boxing division between featherweight and welterweight

   The boxer won the national title as a lightweight before moving to a heavier division.

4. 4
   noun

   a person or thing regarded as having little importance, ability, or endurance

   His opponents dismissed him as a political lightweight, but he won the election.

Common collocations

• lightweight concrete Adjective + noun

A compound of light, in its "not heavy" sense, + weight. It first named a person or thing below average weight and then became a formal combat-sports class. Figurative senses transfer low weight to limited seriousness, influence, ability, or endurance.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images