Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Weak for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "weak" — an adjective, pronounced /wiːk/, rhyming with 'peak'.
Narrator: Weak means lacking strength, power, or force — not strong, whether in body, structure, or effect.
Narrator: In plain English, something weak is feeble or flimsy — 'a weak handshake', 'a weak signal', 'weak coffee'.
Narrator: It stretches widely — a weak argument is unconvincing, a weak economy is struggling, weak tea is watery.
Narrator: It can describe people, materials, signals, drinks, or reasoning — anything lacking in strength or intensity.
Narrator: The word comes from the Old Norse 'veikr', meaning pliant or yielding — easily bent, not firm.
Narrator: From that sense of bending easily, it broadened to every kind of feebleness — physical, structural, and figurative.
Narrator: In tone it is everyday and plain — often mildly critical, the natural opposite of 'strong'.
Narrator: So remember: weak means lacking strength — feeble, flimsy, or faint, the plain opposite of strong.
Speaker A: The wifi in the back room is so weak I can barely load a page — one bar, if I'm lucky.
Speaker B: A weak signal's the worst. That's the word exactly — lacking strength or power.
Speaker A: Exactly. And the coffee there's weak too — basically warm water.
Speaker B: Ha — weak coffee, watery and faint. A common mistake is muddling 'weak' with 'week'.
Speaker A: Ah — they sound identical!
Speaker B: They do — but 'weak' is feeble, while 'week' is seven days. Pure homophones.
Speaker A: Good catch. And it works for arguments too — 'a weak excuse'.
Speaker B: Yes — unconvincing, flimsy. Such a flexible little word.
Speaker A: Handy. Close synonyms? 'Feeble', 'faint', and 'flimsy'.
Speaker B: Though 'faint' suits signals and sounds, while 'weak' covers strength of every kind.
Speaker A: So weak means lacking strength.
Speaker B: Feeble, faint, the opposite of strong.
Speaker B: Let's use "weak" in AI prompts — it is precise for finding flaws and vulnerabilities: weak points, weak passwords, weak spots in code and security.
Speaker A: So weak in a prompt means find the flaws and vulnerable points?
Speaker B: Exactly. For security, you'd write:
Prompt: Audit my app for weak passwords. Flag any account with a weak password, enforce a strong policy on signup, and prompt users to replace weak ones, so no weak credential leaves the door open to attackers.
Speaker B: The word weak pinpoints the target — the feeble spots that need strengthening.
Speaker A: Very focused. What about code?
Speaker B: Try this:
Prompt: Review my code for weak points. Find weak error handling, weak validation, and fragile logic that breaks under edge cases, and suggest how to strengthen each weak spot before it causes a real failure.
Speaker A: So it hunts fragile areas.
Speaker B: Right. For testing:
Prompt: Probe my app for its weakest links. Stress-test every feature to expose the weak parts that fail first under load, so I reinforce the weak areas rather than discovering them when real users arrive.
Speaker A: What about a password meter?
Speaker B: Here you go:
Prompt: Build a password strength meter. Show clearly when a password is weak, medium, or strong as the user types, with tips to fix a weak one, so people understand exactly why their choice is weak.
Speaker A: Could weak flag weak UX too?
Speaker B: Yes:
Prompt: Review my onboarding for weak steps. Flag any weak point where users hesitate or drop off, and suggest a clearer path, so the weak links in the flow get strengthened and more people finish.
Speaker A: So "weak" means flaws and vulnerable points to fix.
Speaker B: Exactly — a precise word that makes the AI hunt for what needs strengthening.
Weak — meaning in Arabic & definition More W courses GL Dictionary