paperweight

American

[pey-per-weyt] / ˈpeɪ pərˌweɪt /

noun

a small, heavy object of glass, metal, etc., placed on papers to keep them from scattering.

paperweight British

/ ˈpeɪpəˌweɪt /

noun

a small heavy object placed on loose papers to prevent them from scattering

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of paperweight

First recorded in 1855–60; paper + weight

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When a promotion affords her a workspace, she cultivates a fixation with paperweights, which help keep her daydreaming grounded.

From The Wall Street Journal

I’ve had several unpleasant dreams where I’m encased in one of Gran’s glass paperweights or trapped beneath the bell jar that houses her arrangement of dried flowers and dead butterflies.

From Literature

This gets to the core of the matter: AI is driving runaway demand for processors like those Nvidia makes, but they would be paperweights without memory, so demand there is going bananas, too.

From Barron's

My tongue felt like someone had snuck a paperweight inside it.

From Salon

When McVay addressed his team earlier this week, he displayed a paperweight emblazoned with the phrase “Built For This.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023