<B>weightless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having little or no weight. <BR> <I>Ex. The reflection of the night glow ... lit the cherry trees ... and made their branches look as if they were smothered in weightless snow (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>being free from the pull of gravity. <BR> <I>Ex. Astronauts know what it is like to float in space in a weightless condition.</I> adv. <B>weightlessly.</B> noun <B>weightlessness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="weightlifter">
<B>weight lifter,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who lifts barbells, dumbbells, or other weights as a body-building exercise or in sports competition. <BR> <I>Ex. Weight lifters and other athletes are prime candidates for back trouble (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weightlifting">
<B>weight lifting,</B> or <B>weightlifting, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the lifting of barbells, dumbbells, or other weights, as a body-building exercise or in sports competition. <BR> <I>Ex. Eight or ten years ago, as a result of a program of weight lifting, he put an inch on his biceps in two weeks (New Yorker).</I> adj. <B>weight-lifting</B> or <B>weightlifting.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="weightthrow">
<B>weight throw,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sport in which a heavy metal ball at the end of a flexible cable is thrown competitively for distance. <BR> <I>Ex. In winning the weight throw Thomson gave a remarkable exhibition of consistency (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weightthrower">
<B>weight thrower,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who competes in the weight throw. </DL>
<A NAME="weightwatcher">
<B>weight-watcher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who tries to control his weight by dieting; dieter. <BR> <I>Ex. [They] are not exactly the keenest weight-watchers in the world and hardly let a day go by without forking into the pasta (Sunday Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weighty">
<B>weighty, </B>adjective, <B>weightier,</B> <B>weightiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>heavy; having much weight. (SYN) ponderous. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) too heavy; burdensome. <BR> <I>Ex. The old king could no longer deal with the weighty cares of state.</I> (SYN) onerous. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>important; influential. <BR> <I>Ex. a weighty speaker.</I> (SYN) momentous. <DD><B> b. </B>convincing. <BR> <I>Ex. weighty arguments.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weilsdisease">
<B>Weil's disease,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an infectious disease characterized by jaundice and fever; leptospirosis. </DL>
<A NAME="weimaraner">
<B>Weimaraner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a breed of medium-sized gray dogs with a docked tail, bred in Germany as a hunting dog. </DL>
<A NAME="weinbergsalamtheory">
<B>Weinberg-Salam theory</B> or <B>model,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Physics.) a theory uniting weak and electromagnetic interactions. <BR> <I>Ex. The Weinberg-Salam theory ... hypothesized that electromagnetism and the weak force are facets of the same phenomenon (Caroline G. Dudley).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weiner">
<B>weiner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a wiener. </DL>
<A NAME="weir">
<B>weir, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a dam erected across a river to stop and raise the water, as for conveying a stream to a mill. <DD><B> 2. </B>a fence of stakes or broken branches put in a stream or channel to catch fish. <DD><B> 3. </B>an obstruction erected across a channel or stream to divert the water through a special opening in order to measure the quantity flowing. </DL>
<A NAME="weird">
<B>weird, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>unearthly or mysterious; wild; strange. <BR> <I>Ex. The witches moved in a weird dance. They were awakened by a weird shriek.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) odd; fantastic; queer. <BR> <I>Ex. The shadows made weird figures on the wall.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic or Scottish.) having to do with fate or destiny. <DD><I>noun </I> (Archaic or Scottish.) <B>1a. </B>the power or agency by which events are predetermined; fate; destiny. <DD><B> b. </B>magical power; enchantment. <DD><B> 2. </B>a witch, wizard, or soothsayer. <DD><B> 3a. </B>what is fated to happen to a particular person, thing, or event; one's appointed lot or fortune. <DD><B> b. </B>an evil fate inflicted by supernatural power, especially by way of retribution. <DD><B> 4. </B>what is destined or fated to happen; predetermined events collectively. <DD><B> 5a. </B>a prophecy. <DD><B> b. </B>a supernatural occurrence. <DD><B> c. </B>an omen. adv. <B>weirdly.</B> noun <B>weirdness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="weirdie">
<B>weirdie, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) a person or thing regarded as weird, odd, or eccentric. </DL>
<A NAME="weirdo">
<B>weirdo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dos,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><I>noun </I> a weirdie. <BR> <I>Ex. The weirdo in this melodrama [is] a young man who kidnaps a girl (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> odd; eccentric; queer. <BR> <I>Ex. He is being blackmailed by a weirdo youth who carries out the pretense of being his son (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weirds">
<B>Weirds, </B>noun pl. <B>=Fates.</B></DL>
<A NAME="weirdsisters">
<B>weird sisters</B> or <B>Weird Sisters,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the Fates. <DD><B> 2. </B>the witches in <I>Macbeth.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="weirdy">
<B>weirdy, </B>noun, pl. <B>weirdies.</B> <B>=weirdie.</B></DL>
<A NAME="weismannism">
<B>Weismannism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) the theory of evolution and heredity propounded by August Weismann (1834-1914), a German biologist, especially his theory that germ plasm is the material basis of heredity and that acquired characters are not transmissible. </DL>
<A NAME="weiss">
<B>Weiss, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) an ornate style of printing type. </DL>
<A NAME="weissbeer">
<B>weiss beer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> very pale, highly effervescent beer, usually prepared from wheat. </DL>
<B>weka, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of certain flightless birds of New Zealand. Wekas are rails about the size of a chicken, with short legs and brown plumage. </DL>
<B>Welchman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B> <B>=Welshman.</B></DL>
<A NAME="welcome">
<B>welcome, </B>verb, <B>-comed,</B> <B>-coming,</B> noun, adjective, interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to greet (a person) kindly; give a friendly reception to. <BR> <I>Ex. We always welcome guests at our house.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to receive gladly. <BR> <I>Ex. We welcome new ideas.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of welcoming or being welcomed; kind or friendly reception. <BR> <I>Ex. Our friends are always sure of a welcome here.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a word or phrase expressing this; kindly greeting. <BR> <I>Ex. a warm welcome.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>gladly received. <BR> <I>Ex. a welcome letter, a welcome visitor, a welcome rest.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>gladly or freely permitted. <BR> <I>Ex. You are welcome to pick the flowers.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>free to enjoy courtesies or other offerings without obligation (used as a conventional response to <I>thanks</I>). <BR> <I>Ex. You are quite welcome.</I> <DD><I>interj. </I> an exclamation of friendly greeting. <BR> <I>Ex. Welcome home! Welcome, everyone!</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>wear out one's welcome,</B> </I>to visit a person too often or too long. <BR> <I>Ex. We decided not to visit them every Sunday lest we wear out our welcome.</I> adv. <B>welcomely.</B> noun <B>welcomeness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="welcomemat">
<B>welcome mat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a doormat, especially one with the word "Welcome" on it: <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal, Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. Throughout all of Tidewater Virginia the welcome mat is out for industry seeking new locations (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="welcomer">
<B>welcomer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that welcomes or greets. </DL>
<A NAME="welcomewagon">
<B>welcome wagon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) an organization that greets new residents by extending to them free promotion from local merchants. </DL>
<A NAME="weld">
<B>weld</B> (1), verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to join (pieces of metal, plastic, or other material) together by heating the parts that touch to the melting point, so that they flow together and become one piece in cooling. The heating may be either by a flame torch or an electric current and may include melting a similar metal or plastic into the joint. <BR> <I>Ex. He welded the broken rod.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to unite closely; join intimately or inseparably. <BR> <I>Ex. to weld nations into an alliance. Working together for a month welded them into a strong team. ... welding words into the crude mass from the new speech round him (Browning).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be welded or be capable of being welded. <BR> <I>Ex. Steel welds; wood does not. Copper welds easily.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>welded joint or fitting. <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of welding. noun <B>welder.</B> adj. <B>weldless.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="weld">
<B>weld</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a European mignonette, from which a yellow dye is obtained; dyer's-weed; yellowweed. <DD><B> 2. </B>the dye. Also, <B>woald,</B> <B>wold,</B> <B>would.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="weldability">
<B>weldability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or property of being weldable. </DL>
<A NAME="weldable">
<B>weldable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be welded. </DL>
<A NAME="welding">
<B>welding, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the process of joining with a weld. </DL>
<A NAME="weldingrod">
<B>welding rod,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a metal rod melted into the joint of a weld to bond two pieces of metal. </DL>
<A NAME="weldingtorch">
<B>welding torch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a torch using gas as the source of heat for welding. </DL>
<A NAME="weldment">
<B>weldment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an assembly of parts welded together. <BR> <I>Ex. Rohr pioneered the manufacture of stainless steel honeycomb structures and high-strength weldments (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
