dead weight

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The factory sector no longer looks like dead weight.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026

Misguided, opinionated labor is dead weight; the high-up leaders know best, which is why they’ve earned the positions they have to begin with.

From Slate • Sep. 14, 2023

“I thought I was dead weight / But you wanna carry me / You wanna carry me home,” she sings on the track, gritty guitar sounds behind her.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2023

“I’m trying to understand how a person’s dead weight can be on your body and how his head can be suspended above your head?”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2023

“You’re generous, tinker. But I’d rather have the shirt than the rope and the fruit wine. They’d just be dead weight in my bag and I’ve got a lot of walking ahead of me.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss