Dictionary

underweight en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English weight English underweight From under- + weight.

Meanings

1. Of an inappropriately or unusually low weight.
   • The market trader was fined for selling underweight bags of fruit.
   • He's so underweight he's had to buy smaller clothes.
   • He's thirty pounds underweight.
2. Not too heavy for an intended purpose.
   • The suitcase is just slightly underweight; I'll let it on the plane.
3. Being less invested in a particular area than market wisdom suggests.
   • The fund is underweight in mining.
   • 2011, Murdoch, S. Foreigners back for Aussie stocks, The Australian "It's a long-run trend of foreign investors -- typically being underweight the banking sector in Australia," Mr Baker said.

Forms

Antonyms

overweight (antonym(s) of “of low weight”) · overweight (antonym(s) of “not too heavy”)

Translations (16)

fr maigre (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · pl niedoważony (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · fi alipainoinen (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es con infrapeso (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es con insuficiente pesadez (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · pl mający niedowagę (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es tener demasiado poca pesadura (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es tener excesivamente poco pesor (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · ru недове́шенные (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es bajo de pesantez (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · ru недове́шенный (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es tener pesantez demasiadamente baja (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es faltarle pesadura (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · el λιποβαρής (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · ru недове́шенная (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight) · es con demasiada poca pesadumbre (of an inappropriately or unusually low weight)

underweight en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English weight English underweight From under- + weight.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The state or quality of being underweight.
   • 1996, United States Institute of Medicine Committee on Scientific Evaluation of WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria, WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria: A Scientific Assessment, National Academies Press, →ISBN, page 110, Underweight reflects the body’s thinness, but the term does not necessarily imply the nature and causes of underweight.
2. (countable) An underweight person.
3. (countable) An underweight investment.
   • Consider a conventional long-only portfolio with underweights on holdings the investment manager does not like and overweights on holdings the manager does like. 2011, Peter L. Bernstein, Capital Ideas Evolving, page 230:
   • Further, structured managers usually attempt to hit their lower targets by relying on a relatively large number of small active deviations (i.e., overweights and underweights). 2004, Bob Litterman, Modern Investment Management: An Equilibrium Approach, page 198:

Forms

Antonyms

overweight · overweight (antonym(s) of “state or quality”)

Translations (9)

ru недове́с (the state of being underweight) · de Untergewicht (the state of being underweight) · fi alipaino (the state of being underweight) · es infrapeso (the state of being underweight) · pl niedowaga (the state of being underweight) · ru недовесок (the state of being underweight) · es insuficiente pesantez (the state of being underweight) · es pesadura excesivamente baja (the state of being underweight) · es demasiado poco pesor (the state of being underweight)

underweight en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English weight English underweight From under- + weight.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To underestimate the weight of.
2. (transitive) To give insufficient weight to (a consideration); to underestimate the importance of.
3. (transitive) To invest in less than conventional wisdom would dictate.
   • Although the portfolio overweights the German market, it underweights German marks. 2009, Philip Lawton, Todd Jankowski, Investment Performance Measurement, page 419:

Forms