hit below one's weight
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To perform below one's expected or actual ability level
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Thực hiện dưới mức khả năng hoặc trình độ thực tế
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to punch below the level of one's weight class
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The talented athlete hit below her weight in the championship game
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “hit below one's weight” mean?
To perform below one's expected or actual ability level Literally: to punch below the level of one's weight class
Is “hit below one's weight” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.