throw-weight

noun

A measure of the effective weight of ballistic missile payloads, given in kilograms or tonnes.

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Meanings

nounthrow-weight (countable and uncountable, plural throw-weights)

plural throw-weights · alternative throw weight

  1. countableuncountablegovernmentA measure of the effective weight of ballistic missile payloads, given in kilograms or tonnes.

    The Soviet arsenal of deliverable nuclear weapons was significantly smaller than the American one in 1960, but grew fast. By 1964 it had reached about 1,000 megatonnes, or about 13 per cent greater than the US 'throw weight' in that year, but less than the Americans had had in 1964.

    2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 76
  2. countableuncountablegovernmentA measure of the total weight of projectiles that can be delivered by a single broadside.

Origin

From throw + weight.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

throw-weight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw-weight

MLA

“throw-weight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw-weight. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw-weight,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw-weight.

Source: throw-weight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.