equivalent weight

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. the combining power, especially in grams gram equivalent, of an element or compound, equivalent to hydrogen as a standard of 1.00797 or oxygen as a standard of 8; the atomic weight divided by the valence.

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equivalent weight British  

noun

1. Also called: gram equivalent.  the weight of an element or compound that will combine with or displace 8 grams of oxygen or 1.007 97 grams of hydrogen

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Etymology

Origin of equivalent weight

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Head of Flood and Incident Risk Management at Natural Resources Wales, Jeremy Parr, said that the river's levels had reached 18 times their normal capacity, the equivalent weight of 371 cars.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

In 2021, the company, according to its own annual report, used more than 750,000 metric tons of plastic containers for its products — the equivalent weight of 74 Eiffel Towers.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 2023

“The training also encourages offices to use social media to communicate both hazards with equivalent weight, to make it clear that both threats are possible during an event,” Boustead said.

From Washington Post • May 4, 2022

That’s the equivalent weight of two Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger airliner, going into the air every second.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 3, 2019

In one a parachute descent was successfully accomplished; and in another the equivalent weight of a man was picked up from the ground without assistance or landing the ship.

From British Airships, Past, Present, and Future by Whale, George