English Reference
Idiom idiom

weigh up

Meaning

To assess a person or a situation.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“I need to weigh up my options before I decide.”

CONTEXTUAL

“The manager took a moment to weigh up the situation before choosing which employee to promote.”

COMPLEX

“Before committing to the long-term contract, the board met to weigh up the potential risks and rewards of the new international partnership.”

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    weigh against

    To be disadvantageous to someone.

  2. 02

    weigh down

    To be too much for someone to cope with.

  3. 03

    weigh in

    To bring in one's weight, metaphorically speaking, to bear on an issue; frequently construed with on or with.

Last updated August 10, 2026