outweigh

«outweigh» in Mova's school dictionary: more important or bigger in effect: «The good points… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (outweigh, outweighs, outweighed, outweighing)

meaning for a pupil

1) If one thing outweighs another, it is more important or bigger in effect: «The good points outweigh the bad». tree →

2) To be heavier than something else. tree →

sense in the lessons

In ethics, science and decision-making lessons, people weigh benefits against risks: the benefits of a vaccine outweigh the risks. In maths and science, one object can outweigh another on a balance. Phrases: «the benefits outweigh the risks», «the pros outweigh the cons», «far outweigh».

examples

• The fun of the trip outweighs the long drive. tree →
• The benefits of exercise far outweigh the effort. tree →
• A full bag of sand outweighs a bag of feathers. tree →
• The doctor said the good of the medicine outweighs the side effects. tree →
• My worries were outweighed by excitement. tree →
• Does the cost outweigh the benefit? tree →
• The elephant outweighs every other land animal. tree →
• Then the king took some larger scales, and heaped up all his treasures on one side, but the silk on the other outweighed them all. tree →

note

Regular verb, past «outweighed». Spelling: out + weigh (with the silent «gh»). Not the same as «outnumber» (more in number). The thing that wins comes first: «A outweighs B» means A is bigger or more important.

In the corpora

• Sometimes a more important duty outweighs a rule, such as running in the corridor to fetch help for a hurt child.
• A promise cannot bind you to stand by while someone comes to harm; keeping someone safe outweighs a promise.
• Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumer fetid and putrid; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honour.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «outweigh» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.