to pull one's weight
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To do the very best one can, exert oneself to the utmost of one's ability. The phrase comes from rowing; an oarsman who does not put all his weight into the stroke tends to become a passenger.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to pull one's weight” mean?
To do the very best one can, exert oneself to the utmost of one's ability. The phrase comes from rowing; an oarsman who does not put all his weight into the stroke tends to become a passenger.
Is “to pull one's weight” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.