Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: COLOURS

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old Norse
Origin: veikr

weak

 adjective
     
weak S3 W2
1

physical

not physically strong:
The illness left her feeling weak.
Poor light produces weak plants.
be too weak to do something
She's too weak to feed herself.
weak with/from
The animal was weak from loss of blood.
weak heart/lungs etc
My grandfather had a weak heart.
2

likely to break

TBC unable to support much weight:
a weak bridge
too weak to do something
The branch was too weak to support his weight.
3

character

easily influenced by other people - used to show disapproval:
a weak indecisive man
4

without power

not having much power or influence
weak leader/ruler/king etc
a weak and ineffective president
The party was left weak and divided.
The country is in a weak position economically.
5

without interest

without the power to interest or amuse people:
The play is well acted but the plot is weak.
6

without energy

done without energy or confidence:
He managed a weak smile.
7

not good at doing something

not good at a particular skill or subject, or in a particular area of activity or knowledge
weak in
New Zealand was weak in defense.
weak on
She speaks quite fluently but she's weak on grammar.
Be honest about your weak points (=your faults or the things you do not do well).
8

money

PEBF not financially successful
The pound was weak against the dollar.
9

argument/idea

not likely to make people believe that something is true or right:
She's washing her hair? That sounds like a weak excuse!
There are some weak points in her argument.
The defence lawyer clearly knew that his case was weak.
10

drink

DFD weak tea, beer etc contains a lot of water and has little taste [≠ strong]
11

light/sound

CCC difficult to see or hear [= faint]:
a weak radio signal
He had only a weak light to see by.
12

weak points/spots

the parts of something that can easily be attacked or criticized:
Check your house for weak spots where a thief could enter.
13

weak at the knees

feeling strange because of strong emotions:
His smile made her go weak at the knees.
14

weak moment

a time when you can be persuaded more easily than usual:
Dave caught me at a weak moment and I lent him £10.
15

the weak/weakest link

the person or thing in a situation that is less strong, skilful etc than the others:
Goalkeeper Gouter proved to be the weakest link.
16

weak verb

technicalSLG a verb that forms regular past tenses [≠ strong verb]
17SLG

weak consonant/syllable

one that is not emphasized
—weakly adverb:
"I'm sorry," she said, smiling weakly.
He sank down weakly beside her.
WORD FOCUS: weak WORD FOCUS: weak
person: puny, feeble, weedy British English, frail, fragile, powerless, vulnerable
thing: fragile, delicate, flimsy, rickety, badly made, jerry-built
Definition of weak from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
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