EnglishMain Dictionary
weak
Universal Words
adjective (weaker, weakest)
not physically strong
1 not physically strong:
She is still weak after her illness. * His legs felt weak. * She suffered from a weak heart.
likely to break
2 that cannot support a lot of weight; likely to break:
That bridge is too weak to carry heavy traffic.
without power
3 easy to influence; not having much power:
a weak and cowardly man * In a weak moment (= when I was easily persuaded) I said she could borrow the car. * a weak leader / country * The unions have always been weak in this industry.
poor / sick people
4 (the weak) noun [pl.] people who are poor, sick or without power
currency / economy
5 not financially strong or successful:
a weak currency / economy / market
not good at sth
6 ~ (in sth) not good at sth:
a weak team * I was always weak in the science subjects.
not convincing
7 that people are not likely to believe or be persuaded by:
weak arguments / evidence * I enjoyed the movie but I thought the ending was very weak.
hard to see / hear
8 not easily seen or heard:
a weak light / signal / sound
without enthusiasm
9 done without enthusiasm or energy:
a weak smile * He made a weak attempt to look cheerful.
liquid
10 a weak liquid contains a lot of water:
weak tea
point / spot
11 ~ point / spot the part of a person's character, an argument, etc. that is easy to attack or criticize:
The team's weak points are in defence. * He knew her weak spot where Steve was concerned.
grammar
12 a weak verb forms the past tense, etc. by adding -d, -ed or -t (for example walk, walked) and not by changing a vowel (for example run, ran)
phonetics
13 (of the pronunciation of some words) used when there is no stress on the word. For example, the weak form of and is .
OPPSTRONG
IDIOMS
weak at the knees (informal) hardly able to stand because of emotion, fear, illness, etc:
His sudden smile made her go weak at the knees.
the weak link (in the chain) the point at which a system or an organization is most likely to fail:
She went straight for the one weak link in the chain of his argument.
