weak

 
Pronunciation: /wiːk/

adjective

  • 1lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks; having little physical strength or energy: she was recovering from flu, and was very weak
  • lacking power or influence: the central government had grown too weak to impose order (as plural noun the weak) the new king used his powers to protect the weak
  • (of a team or military force) containing too few members or members of insufficient quality: their problems arose from fielding weak teams in league matches
  • (of a faculty or part of the body) not able to fulfil its functions properly: he had a weak stomach
  • of a low standard; performing or performed badly: the choruses on this recording are weak
  • not convincing or logically forceful: the argument is an extremely weak one a weak plot
  • exerting only a small force: a weak magnetic field
  • 2liable to break or give way under pressure; easily damaged: the salamander’s tail may be broken off at a weak spot near the base
  • lacking the force of character to hold to one’s own decisions, beliefs, or principles; irresolute: he was not weak or a compromiser
  • (of a belief) not held with conviction or intensity: their commitment to the project is weak
  • (of prices or a market) having a downward tendency.
  • 3lacking intensity or brightness: a weak light from a single street lamp
  • (of a liquid or solution) heavily diluted: a cup of weak coffee
  • displaying or characterized by a lack of enthusiasm or energy: she managed a weak, nervous smile
  • (of features) not striking or strongly marked: his beard covered a weak chin
  • (of a syllable) unstressed.
  • 4 Grammar denoting a class of verbs in Germanic languages that form the past tense and past participle by addition of a suffix (in English, typically -ed).
  • 5 Physics relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles, which acts only at distances less than about 10−15 cm, is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions, and conserves neither strangeness, parity, nor isospin.

Phrases

the weaker sex

[treated as singular or plural] dated women regarded collectively.

the weakest link

the point at which a system, sequence, or organization is most vulnerable; the least dependable element or member: the replacement goalkeeper proved to be the team’s weakest link

Derivatives

weakish

adjective

Origin:

Old English wāc 'pliant', 'of little worth', 'not steadfast', reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse veikr, from a Germanic base meaning 'yield, give way'