weigh station

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableAmerican

   A place beside a road where trucks must stop so officials can check their weight and sometimes their papers.

   Grammar: Countable: 'a weigh station', 'two weigh stations'. Often used with 'at' or 'through'.

   Patterns

   • at a weigh station
   • stop at a weigh station
   • pull into a weigh station

   The driver pulled into the weigh station to have his load checked.

   Trucks were lined up at the weigh station on the highway.

   If you ignore the sign for the weigh station, you can be fined.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   A place where something or someone is weighed, especially in industry or science.

   Grammar: Countable and more general; often used for animals or goods, not just trucks.

   Patterns

   • a weigh station for cattle
   • use a weigh station

   The farm has a weigh station for cattle before they are sold.

   Samples are taken to the weigh station to be measured precisely.

   The new weigh station at the factory speeds up the loading process.

Word forms

Common combinations

pull into a weigh station

The truck driver pulled into a weigh station for an inspection.

at the weigh station

We waited at the weigh station while the officers checked the load.

a weigh station on the highway

There is a weigh station on the highway just before the state line.

weigh station sign

The weigh station sign warned trucks to exit.

Synonyms and how they differ

weighbridge

British and often refers to the platform or machine itself, not the whole roadside facility.

checkpoint

A more general word for a place where vehicles are stopped and checked; it does not always involve weighing.

Word family

weigh verb

To measure how heavy something is.

weighing noun

The act of measuring weight.

Commonly confused: weigh station or weight station? weigh station or way station?

Practice

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