Meaning & use
outweigh
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To be more important, valuable or powerful than something else you are comparing it with.
Grammar: Takes an object: the benefits outweigh the risks.
Patterns
- something outweighs something
- the advantages outweigh the disadvantages
For most patients, the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks.
The cost of the repairs would outweigh any money we saved.
Her love of the city outweighed her wish for a bigger house.
verbtransitive
To have a greater physical weight than another person or thing.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with a measure: he outweighs her by ten pounds.
Patterns
- outweigh someone by an amount
The heavyweight outweighed his opponent by thirty pounds.
A full suitcase can easily outweigh the child carrying it.
Adult elephants outweigh every other land animal.
Word forms
| third person singular | outweighs |
|---|---|
| past tense | outweighed |
| past participle | outweighed |
| -ing form | outweighing |
Common combinations
- far outweigh
- The advantages of working from home far outweigh the drawbacks.
- outweigh the risks
- The potential gains outweigh the risks.
- outweigh the benefits
- For some, the costs outweigh the benefits.
- easily outweigh
- Her experience easily outweighs his youthful enthusiasm.
- more than outweigh
- The joy of the trip more than outweighed the tiredness.
- outweigh the disadvantages
- The low price outweighs the disadvantages of the location.
Synonyms and how they differ
- override
- Override means one factor takes control and cancels another, while outweigh just means it counts for more in a comparison.
- exceed
- Exceed compares amounts or limits, such as speed, whereas outweigh compares importance or value.
- overshadow
- Overshadow suggests something makes another thing seem less significant, not that it is weighed against it.
- trump
- Trump is more informal and suggests winning outright, as a card does, rather than a balanced comparison.
Opposites
Word family
- weigh verb
- to consider carefully or have a certain weight
- weight noun
- heaviness or importance
- overweight adjective
- heavier than is healthy
- outweighed adjective
- made less important by something stronger
Commonly confused: outweigh or overweigh?
outweigh vs overweigh
Overweigh is rare and means to burden or weigh too heavily; outweigh is the normal word for being greater than.
Practice
Choose the best word: The long-term savings clearly ____ the initial expense.
Choose one answer.
Outweigh compares value or importance. Outnumber is about counting people or things, so it is a tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “outweigh”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.