What does outweigh mean?
Word: Outweigh
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Outweigh means to be greater or more important than something else.
How do you spell outweigh?
Syllables: out - weigh
Tricky part: The ending sounds like way, so pupils write ay. The sound is spelt with the same four letters that open eight.
Watch out for: outway, outwey, outwaigh
Memory tip: Picture eight elephants on a scale: they beat anything else, and the eigh of eight carries over.
Outweigh in a sentence
Example 1: The joy of winning outweighed all those early morning practice sessions.
Example 2: For me, the view from the top outweighs the long climb.
Example 3: In this test, accuracy outweighs speed.
Fun Fact
The verb inside it goes back to Old English wegan, which could mean to carry or lift as well as to weigh.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
outtweigh
a) t
b) w
c) g
d) u
Show answer
a) t. The opening part is spelt just as the word out always is.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The fun of a school trip can easily itwheguo the tiring bus ride.
a) outgrow
b) outrun
c) outlive
d) outweigh
Show answer
d) outweigh. An e, an i and an h in the jumble rule out all the others.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word outweigh as used in the sentence:
The benefits of the new bus route far outweigh the small rise in fares.
a) lessen
b) equal
c) exceed
d) follow
Show answer
c) exceed. The benefits are greater than the rise in fares, which is what exceed says.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose what that word means.
1. outnumber 2. outweigh 3. outskirts 4. outstandding
a) the parts of a town far from the centre
b) to be more in number than another group
c) to matter more than another thing when the two are compared
d) much better than most others
Show answer
d) much better than most others. Outstanding has only one d in the middle.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Mum says the good points of a trip outweigh the one small problem. What will the family probably do?
a) call off the trip
b) ask the school to decide
c) go ahead with the trip
d) argue about it all week
Show answer
c) go ahead with the trip
2. On a balance, a melon outweighs a lemon. What do you see?
a) both pans stay perfectly level
b) the pan with the lemon sinks lower
c) the pans keep swinging up and down
d) the pan with the melon sinks lower
Show answer
d) the pan with the melon sinks lower
