From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeadweightdead‧weight, dead weight /ˈdedweɪt/ noun [singular]1something that is very heavy and difficult to carry2someone or something that prevents you from making progress or being successfulExamples from the Corpusdeadweight• Almost every staffroom in the land will rejoice again tomorrow at the finallifting of a deadweight on morale and hope.• He's told me what a deadweight you were to him.From Longman Business Dictionarydeadweightdead‧weight /ˈdedweɪt/ adjectiveTRANSPORTdeadweight tons or tonnes are a measure of a ship’s weight when it is emptyThe maximum size vessel that can use the Panama Canal is a ship of about 65,000 deadweight tons.