| dead weight | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a heavy weight or load |
| 2. | an oppressive burden; encumbrance |
| 3. | the difference between the loaded and the unloaded weights of a ship |
| 4. | another name for dead load |
| 5. | (in shipping) freight chargeable by weight rather than by bulk |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |