dead weights

Anchors dragging down

Dead weights are burdens that contribute nothing useful—people or things that must be carried without offering value in return.

The phrase comes from the literal sense: inert mass that provides no assistance in its own transport, unlike livestock that can walk.

We had to cut the dead weights from the team.

Also spelled as one word: deadweights.

Related

boat anchor · ball and chain · burden · hindrance · holding back · encumbrance · impediment · excess baggage · loads · freeloader · liability · millstone · lead balloon · submerging · packs · stagnation · albatross · inertia

Opposites
contribution/value

dead weightsassets

Owned items of value

contributors · key players · driving forces · producers · performers

burden/support

dead weightspillars

Load-bearing vertical structures

cornerstones · mainstays · supporters · anchors · foundations

Family

dead, weight, weights, deadly, deadness, deaden, deadened, deadening, deader

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G