1.nounUnremitting heavy weight that does not move.
2.nounThe largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry; i.e, the weight of a ship when fully loaded minus its weight when empty.
3.nounDead load.
4.nounThat which is useless or excess; that which slows something down.
"She wants to shed the dead weight of so many stacks of old clutter."
5.adverb(of a shot in snooker or other cue sports) With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely determined position.
"He rolled the red in dead weight, and now he's nicely on the blue."