throw weight: Meaning and Definition of

throw' weight"

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. the lifting power, or payload maximum, of a ballistic missile exclusive of the weight of the rocket itself, and including the weight of the warhead or warheads and of guidance and penetration systems; ballistic delivery power: larger Soviet missiles with a throw weight of up to 20 megatons.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.