1
general::
Phrase(s): carry one’s (own) weight [and] pull one’s (own) weight
Fig. to do one’s share; to earn one’s keep. (The weight is the burden that is the responsibility of someone.) • Tom, you must be more helpful around the house. We each have to carry our own weight. • Bill, I’m afraid that you can’t work here anymore. You just haven’t been carrying your weight., Phrase(s): carry weight (with someone)
Fig. to have influence with someone; [for an explanation] to amount to a good argument to use with someone. • That carries a lot of weight with the older folks. • What you say carries no weight with me., Phrase(s): carry (a lot of) weight (with someone or something)
Fig. to be very influential with someone or some group of people. • Your argument does not carry a lot of weight with me. • The senator’s testimony carried a lot of weight with the council.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Also, carry authority or conviction. Exert influence, authority, or persuasion, as in No matter what the President says, his words always carry weight. Shakespeare combined two of these expressions in Henry VIII (3:2): "Words cannot carry authority so weighty." [c. 1600]
American Heritage Idioms