Meaning & use
sheer weight
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
the fact of being extremely heavy or great in amount, used to stress its power alone
Grammar: Usually used as 'the sheer weight of something'. It can be literal (heavy objects) or figurative (a large amount of something).
Patterns
- the sheer weight of something
- collapse under the sheer weight of something
- the sheer weight of numbers
The shelf collapsed under the sheer weight of the books.
The sheer weight of evidence made the decision easy.
They were defeated by the sheer weight of numbers.
Common combinations
- the sheer weight of evidence
- The sheer weight of evidence convinced the jury.
- the sheer weight of numbers
- The smaller team lost to the sheer weight of numbers.
- collapse under the sheer weight
- The bridge collapsed under the sheer weight of the trucks.
- the sheer weight of expectation
- He struggled with the sheer weight of expectation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sheer mass
- Sheer mass is more physical and less common in figurative speech; sheer weight works for both physical and abstract pressure.
Word family
Commonly confused: sheer weight or shear weight?
sheer weight vs shear weight
Shear weight is not a standard phrase; shear is a cutting force, while sheer means pure or complete.
Practice
Complete the sentence: The old wall fell ___ the sheer weight of the snow.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is 'fall under the sheer weight of something', meaning the weight caused it to fall. 'By' could suggest an agent, but 'under' is the fixed preposition with weight here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sheer weight”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.