Commonly Confused Words: Wait and Weight

Man lifting weight with a clock (wait)
fandijki/Getty Images

The words wait and weight are homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings.

The verb wait means to stay in place until something else happens. As a noun, wait refers to the time spent waiting.

The verb weight means to load down or make heavier. The noun weight refers to a measure of heaviness or to an object used to hold something down.

Examples

  • "You can't wait for inspiration; you have to go after it with a club." (Jack London)
  • After a long wait for luggage, I took a cab to my hotel.
  • Any object is dragged down when a heavy weight is tied to it.

Practice

(a) Every year, people make resolutions to exercise and lose _____.

(b) I couldn't _____ for success, so I went ahead without it.

(c) One end of the belt was attached to a five-pound _____.

(d) The _____ was agonizing, and our thirst became almost unbearable.

Answers

(a) Every year, people make resolutions to exercise and lose weight.

(b) I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.

(c) One end of the belt was attached to a five-pound weight.

(d) The wait was agonizing, and our thirst became almost unbearable.

Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Nordquist, Richard. "Commonly Confused Words: Wait and Weight." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/wait-and-weight-1689523. Nordquist, Richard. (2021, February 16). Commonly Confused Words: Wait and Weight. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/wait-and-weight-1689523 Nordquist, Richard. "Commonly Confused Words: Wait and Weight." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/wait-and-weight-1689523 (accessed March 29, 2024).