This is the 136th most frequent Spanish word.
pesar
"Pesar" means "to weigh" or "sorrow/grief" depending on context.
'Pesar' here functions as a noun, representing 'sorrow' or 'grief' experienced by individuals after hearing news.
El pesar por la noticia fue evidente en todos.
The sorrow over the news was evident in everyone.
In this example, 'pesar' acts as a verb, meaning 'to weigh', describing the act of measuring weight of items.
Voy a pesar los ingredientes para la receta.
I am going to weigh the ingredients for the recipe.
Here, 'a pesar de' is used as a prepositional phrase meaning 'despite' or 'in spite of', denoting an opposition or contrast.