: weighing less than the normal or requisite amount
Examples of underweight in a Sentence
Adjective
the long illness left him frail and underweight
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Not owning it, or being underweight would have left an investor trailing most benchmarks.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2025
Per the National Institutes of Health's standards, this is considered underweight.
—EW.com, 21 Aug. 2025
One area investors are underweight on is clean technology.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underweight
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Adjective
Being obese is more prevalent than being underweight in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Not owning it, or being underweight would have left an investor trailing most benchmarks.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2025
Per the National Institutes of Health's standards, this is considered underweight.
—EW.com, 21 Aug. 2025
One area investors are underweight on is clean technology.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underweight
Cite this Entry
“Underweight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underweight. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
underweight
adjective
un·der·weight
-ˈwāt 
: weighing less than the normal amount for one's age, height, and build
underweight children
underweight adults typically have a body mass index of less than 18.5
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