What does weightless mean?
Weightless describes something with no appreciable weight or with no sensation of weight. In ordinary language, the term evokes extreme lightness, as in a weightless object, movement, or moment. Its most distinctive technical use concerns astronauts and objects in continuous free fall: they are weightless because they experience no supporting force, not because gravity has disappeared. The word can also be used figuratively for a feeling of being unburdened, carefree, or detached from everyday pressures. Because “weightless” is more evocative than the plainer “light,” it often appears in descriptions of dance, movement, and emotional release. Its literal and figurative meanings share a contrast between physical weight and the burdens or forces that hold a person or object down. Understanding the space-flight sense avoids a common scientific misconception and makes the word especially useful when reading or discussing orbit, floating, or apparent loss of gravity.
adjectiveHaving no appreciable weight or sensation of weight; especially, experiencing no supporting force in a free-falling environment. Figuratively, it can describe a feeling of being carefree, unburdened, or detached from everyday pressures.
- Having no appreciable weight, or experiencing the sensation of having no weight.
- Figuratively, free from cares, obligations, or emotional heaviness.
"The dancers seemed weightless as they moved across the stage."
"For a few seconds in the spacecraft, everything felt weightless."
"The music gave the celebration a playful, weightless energy."
Astronauts are weightless in orbit because they are continuously falling around Earth, not because gravity has vanished.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does weightless come from?
Weightless combines the English noun weight, from Old English weoht, with the suffix -less. The suffix descends from Old English -lēas, meaning “without” or “free from,” and is cognate with Dutch -loos and German -los. Weight itself is related to weigh, reflecting their common Germanic ancestry.
Related word forms
How weightless is actually used
The word is common in general description and especially in discussions of spaceflight and free fall. Its figurative use is more literary and evocative than the ordinary word “light.”