'Wade' means to walk through shallow water; 'weighed' is the past tense of 'to weigh'.
Verb. To walk through water or another substance that impedes movement. Also: to tackle something laborious (wade through paperwork).
The children waded through the shallow stream, laughing and splashing.
I spent the whole morning wading through hundreds of emails.
Firefighters had to wade through floodwater to reach the trapped residents.
Verb. Past of 'to weigh': to measure how heavy something is. Also: to consider carefully, or to be a burden.
The package weighed over five kilograms — we needed a larger box.
She weighed all the options carefully before making her final choice.
The decision weighed heavily on him for weeks.
Common mistake
"She weighed through the crowd" when meaning moved with difficulty (correct: waded). Or "He waded the options carefully" when meaning considered (correct: weighed). The idioms are where confusion hits: 'wade through' vs 'weigh up'.
Trick to remember it
'Wade' has ADE like 'made' and 'shade' — the shade of water you wade through. 'Weighed' contains EIGH like 'weight', 'freight', 'eight' — the EIGH cluster is almost always weight-related in English.
Quick rule
Is it walking through water or advancing with difficulty? 'Wade'. Is it the past of measuring weight or considering? 'Weighed'.
Did you know?
The EIGH spelling in English almost always appears in weight-related or number words: weight, freight, eight, eighteen, eighty, sleigh (which carries weight). This cluster came from Old French 'eit'/'ait' sounds that entered English after the Norman Conquest. Scribes added the silent GH to mark the etymology, and the spelling froze. 'Weighed' follows this pattern: weight + ed = something that was measured. Once you know this pattern, EIGH words become recognisable.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The shipment _____ twelve tonnes — more than the freight company had quoted for.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Relief workers _____ through deep mud to deliver supplies to the isolated village.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it walking through water or advancing with difficulty? 'Wade'. Is it the past of measuring weight or considering? 'Weighed'.
"She weighed through the crowd" when meaning moved with difficulty (correct: waded). Or "He waded the options carefully" when meaning considered (correct: weighed). The idioms are where confusion hits: 'wade through' vs 'weigh up'.
'Wade' has ADE like 'made' and 'shade' — the shade of water you wade through. 'Weighed' contains EIGH like 'weight', 'freight', 'eight' — the EIGH cluster is almost always weight-related in English.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy