There has been a lot of discussion in the internet universe about whether “weightage” is an actual word or not. Some dictionaries do not recognize it as a word, while some do. Here’s a compilation of which dictionary identifies weightage and weighting as a word:
Interestingly, The Free Dictionary, Cambridge and Collins classify the word “weightage” as Indian English, and that it is another word for “weighting”. All the dictionaries give similar definition to the word “weightage / weighting”, and these are:
Oxford
Weighting: [countable, uncountable] A value that you give to each of a number of things to show how important it is compared with the others.
Merriam-Webster
Weightage: The assignment of a quota (as of members of a legislature) to a particular segment of the population as a special favor or concession in a proportion above that allowable on a strictly numerical basis.
The Free Dictionary
Weightage: Chiefly Indian – another name for weighting.
Weighting: [Noun] A factor by which some quantity is multiplied in order to make it comparable with others.
Cambridge
Weightage: [Noun] Indian English – the value or importance of something when compared with another thing.
Weighting: [Noun] A level of importance given to something compared to something else.
Collins
Weightage: [Noun] Mainly Indian another name for weighting.
Weighting: A weighting is a value which is given to something according to how important or significant it is.
And here are some examples of how these words are used in a sentence:
From Oxford:
- Each of the factors is given a weighting on a scale of 1 to 10.
- Each question in the exam has equal weighting.
From Cambridge:
- The entrance test carries 40 percent weightage in the final result.
- The salary of £15,537 increases to £17,778 with London weighting.
From Hansard archive:
- That gave far more weightage to urban and rural areas and the county boroughs could not have more than 50 per cent, representation.
- It may be four times the weightage if they go on at the present rate.
From Wikipedia:
- It also provides weightage for industrial training and extracurricular activities.
- The weightage given for each of these components varies each year.
So, what do you think? Which one will you use in your line of work? And don’t forget to check out these similar posts too – Response Vs. Respond and Deadline Vs. Dateline.
