Common mistakes
Wait vs weight: hear and use the right word
Sign in to saveWait and weight share the same final sound, but they do different jobs. One describes time. The other names how heavy something is.
Choose wait or weight by identifying whether the sentence means to stay until something happens or how heavy something is.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Please wait while I check the weight of the parcel. /pliːz weɪt waɪl aɪ tʃek ðə weɪt əv ðə ˈpɑːsəl/
The short answer
Wait means to stay until something happens. Weight means how heavy a person or thing is. In Please wait by the door, wait is an action. In The parcel has a weight of two kilograms, weight is a thing you can measure.
Please wait near the reception desk until your name is called.
Why it works: Wait tells the listener to stay for a later event.
4 more examples
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The suitcase weighs twelve kilograms when it is full.
Weigh is the verb related to the noun weight.
Not this:The suitcase
waits twelve kilogramswhen it is full. What changes: Wait does not mean to have a measured heaviness. -
We had to wait for the rain to stop before leaving.
Wait for introduces the event that must happen first.
Not this:We had to
weight for the rain to stopbefore leaving. What changes: The sentence needs the verb wait because it is about time. -
The shipping form asks for the weight of the box.
Weight is a noun for how heavy the box is.
Not this:The shipping form asks for
the wait of the box. What changes: Wait is not the usual noun for a measured property of a box. -
After lunch, the students waited quietly for the instructor.
Waited is the past form of wait.
Not this:After lunch, the students
weighted quietlyfor the instructor. What changes: Weighted means gave something a particular importance or balance, not stayed for a person.
Read the full guide
First ask whether the sentence is about time or heaviness. If someone must stay for an event, choose wait. If the sentence measures or describes heaviness, choose weight.
Start with the meaning
The spelling depends on the idea. Wait is about staying for something. Weight is about how heavy something is.
I will wait outside until the meeting ends.
The speaker stays until a later event.
The weight of the backpack made my shoulders ache.
Weight names the heaviness of the backpack.
Which word belongs with kilograms?
Use weight, or the related verb weigh.
Use wait for a person, event, or time
Wait often comes before for when you name a person or thing that has not arrived. It comes before until when you name the time or event that ends the wait.
Nora waited for the clinic to open.
Wait for introduces the thing Nora expects.
Please wait until the screen shows a message.
Wait until introduces the event that must happen first.
Choose the missing word: We can ___ here until the taxi arrives.
Use wait because the sentence is about staying for the taxi.
Use weight for heaviness
Weight is a noun. It can name a measurement or simply describe how heavy something feels. You may see it after the, a, its, or a number.
Check the weight of the luggage before your flight.
The phrase asks for a measurement of heaviness.
This shelf can support a weight of twenty kilograms.
Twenty kilograms measures the weight.
Which word is a noun in the weight of the luggage?
Weight is the noun.
Notice weigh, the related verb
Weigh is the verb for finding or having a certain weight. Do not add t to make this verb. The clerk weighs fruit, and the fruit weighs one kilogram.
The baker weighed the flour before mixing it.
Weighed describes the action of measuring heaviness.
The baby weighs seven kilograms.
Here weighs says how heavy the baby is.
Which verb means measure the heaviness of an object?
Use weigh.
Let grammar help you choose
A word after to, can, will, or did is often a base verb. If the idea is staying, choose wait. Before a number and unit, or after the, you often need weight.
Can you wait five more minutes?
Can is followed by the base verb wait.
The parcel's weight is 1.5 kilograms.
The noun weight comes before the measurement.
Which spelling follows can in Can you ___ for me?
Use wait.
Read the whole sentence
Because wait and weight sound alike, listening alone may not tell you the spelling. Read the nearby words. Words such as arrive, later, and until point to wait. Words such as heavy, scale, kilograms, and carry point to weight.
The scale displayed the weight after the package was placed on it.
Scale and displayed point to a measurement.
We waited in the lobby while the technician worked.
While the technician worked tells us what the people were waiting for.
Which clue suggests weight: an arrival time or a scale?
A scale suggests weight.
Before you go
Remember this
Use wait for time: wait for the bus or wait until noon. Use weight for heaviness: the weight of a parcel or a person's weight. Listen for the same /weɪ/ sound, then use the sentence meaning to choose the spelling.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Wait vs weight: hear and use the right word"
What is the difference between wait and weight?
Wait means stay until something happens. Weight means how heavy a person or thing is. Please wait near the reception desk until your name is called uses the time meaning.
Please wait near the reception desk until your name is called.
Are wait and weight pronounced the same?
In many common English accents, wait and weight are homophones. Both have the sound /weɪt/. The sentence meaning and spelling show whether the idea is time or heaviness.
Please weight near the reception desk until your name is called.
When do I use wait for?
Use wait for before the person, thing, or event you expect. We had to wait for the rain to stop before leaving shows that the people stayed until the weather changed.
The suitcase weighs twelve kilograms when it is full.
Is weight a noun?
Yes. Weight is a noun for how heavy something is. The shipping form asks for the weight of the box uses weight as the measured property of a box.
The suitcase waits twelve kilograms when it is full.
What is the verb form of weight?
The usual verb is weigh. The suitcase weighs twelve kilograms when it is full gives its measured heaviness. In a different use, people can also weigh options before deciding.
We had to wait for the rain to stop before leaving.