# lightweight
## English
### Alternative forms

* light-weight

### Etymology

From light (“not heavy”, adjective) +‎ weight (noun).

### Pronunciation

* (noun): (US) IPA: /ˈlaɪt.weɪt/
* (adjective): (US) IPA: /laɪtˈweɪt/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: (adjective) -eɪt

### Noun

lightweight (plural lightweights)
* (combat sports) A particular weight class, or member of such, as prescribed by the rules, between that of the heavier welterweight and the lighter featherweight. See Wikipedia for the specifics of each sport.
* (rowing) A particular weight category as prescribed by the rules, separate from an open or heavyweight class.
* (weightlifting) A competitive weight division as prescribed by the rules, between the heavier middleweight and the lighter featherweight.
* One of little consequence or ability.
* A person who cannot handle their drink; one who gets drunk on very little alcohol.
** 2005 August 23, Haley Hazelton, Misfile (webcomic), 2005-08-23:"Wait, is this about the other night when you two lightweights totally went on that bender?"
* (by extension) A person with low endurance.
* A political candidate with little chance of winning.

#### Translations
### Adjective

lightweight (comparative more lightweight or lighterweight, superlative most lightweight or lightestweight)
* Lacking in earnestness, ability, or profundity.
* Having less than average weight.
** 2021 May 19, David Clough, “Swiss precision meets UK growth”, in RAIL, number 931, page 57:For example, lightweight construction and Jacobs bogies save weight, and a lighter train uses less power.
* Lacking in strength.
** 2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC‎:With the Gunners far too lightweight in midfield, Mikel Arteta dropped back into a deeper-lying role. This freed Yossi Benayoun to go further forward, a move that helped forge a rare Arsenal chance on 30 minutes when the Israeli released Van Persie, only for the Dutchman's snap-shot to be tipped around the post.
* (computing) Having a small footprint or performance impact.

#### Derived terms

* lightweight spaceship

#### Translations
### Verb

lightweight (third-person singular simple present lightweights, present participle lightweighting, simple past and past participle lightweighted)
* (transitive) To reduce the amount or weight of.
** 1997 December 22, James Salzman, “Sustainable consumption and the law”, in Environmental Law:By extending the producer’s responsibility to the product’s disposal (its post-consumer life), issues previously outside the business calculus become of paramount importance. Because a producer knows it will have to bear the cost of collecting and valorizing the product, it must manage a new set of business matters. Can the packaging be lightweighted? Are the materials all recyclable?
** 2002, Edward Teller, Cecil Leith, Gregory Canavan, Lowell Wood, “Long-Range Weather Prediction III: Miniaturized Distributed Sensors for Global Atmospheric Measurements”, in A. Zichichi, R. Ragaini, editors, International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies, 26th Session (The Science and Culture Series: Nuclear Strategy and Peace Technology), World Scientific, page 328:The solar photovoltaic array, GPS antennae and telephony antenna all would be lightweighted and integrated into the balloon structure, and the sensor-module would be ruggedized and miniaturized.
** 2015 February 28, Hal Hodson, “Heavy metal is so last year”, in New Scientist, page 23:According to Klausner, “lightweighting” all cars and planes in the US would save 121 billion litres of fuel a year and cut carbon emissions by about 5 per cent.