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“Waits” or “Weights”

waits / weights are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

waits w·EY·t·s

  • nounthe act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something).
  • verbstay in one place and anticipate or expect something.
  • verbwait before acting.
  • verbserve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.

weights w·EY·t·s

  • nounthe vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity.
  • nounsports equipment used in calisthenic exercises and weightlifting; it is not attached to anything and is raised and lowered by use of the hands and arms.
  • nounthe relative importance granted to something.
  • nounan artifact that is heavy.
  • nounan oppressive feeling of heavy force.
  • noun(statistics) a coefficient assigned to elements of a frequency distribution in order to represent their relative importance.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“waits”

  • …areas of forest while it waits for prey.
  • Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine (1980)…
  • 'Family waits as deadline passes in silence',…
  • …lead singer of Cardiff-based Tom Waits tribute band 'Tom Waits for…
  • …To Strangers" (duet with Tom Waits)
  • Susan waits eagerly for letters from Conn,…
  • …Stewart, Andy Summers and Tom Waits.
  • Tom Waits - Blue Valentine (1978) -
  • Tom Waits gave the song a darker…
  • Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday…

“weights”

  • …more thrust and allowing higher weights.
  • All Swiss weights and measures are unified
  • …lifters sweating over these enormous weights, and shouting and screaming while…
  • …modified with bored stones as weights.
  • Coinage, Weights and Measures
  • She started lifting weights at age six.
  • …police, but also for supervising weights and measures, the cleaning and…
  • …room upon him or laying weights upon his head and making…
  • …outfitted with Nautilus equipment, free weights and aerobic equipment.
  • …reactants is calculated from the weights (acetic acid: 120 g ÷…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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