Plain English Meaning
A halfway-point number on the loading worksheet. You add up the empty airplane, the people, the bags, and all the fuel on board. That total is the subtotal ramp weight. From there you subtract the fuel used for starting and taxiing to get the takeoff weight.
Full Definition
An interim total in a weight-and-balance computation representing the airplane's ramp weight before subtracting the fuel that will be burned during engine start, taxi, and runup. It is the running total at the point in the loading worksheet where the basic empty weight, occupants, baggage, and full usable fuel have all been added together, but the taxi fuel allowance has not yet been deducted to arrive at takeoff weight.
Context Anchor
Seen in weight-and-balance calculations, especially when working from zero fuel weight to ramp weight, takeoff weight, and .