If a recipe calls for 16 oz of shredded cheese, do they mean weight or volume?

I'm making a cheese ball and it calls for 16 oz of shredded cheddar cheese. I am a bit confused as to whether this means a 16 oz block of cheese shredded, or 16 oz (2 cups) of shredded cheese. It doesn't say "16 oz cheddar, shredded" or anything like that because god forbid they actually be specific. If it is in volume, then how densely do I pack the cheese?

I know that, in the end, there won't be a significant difference either way, and its just a cheese ball, so I'm sure it'll turn out fine no matter which measurement I use, but its annoying when recipes are vague like this.

I guess my question isn't so much how I should prepare it, but rather how would you interpret those instructions?

Can you post the recipe? I am almost sure in this case it is weight. Like a 16 oz pack of shredded cheese.

Danny

By weight, not volume.

Weight. They would say cups if they meant volume.

this is an old post but isn't 16oz 16oz? If you shred a 16 oz block or buy a bag of 16oz shreds it is the exact same thing. One is just already done for you. So of a recipe called for 16oz of shredded cheddar cheese I wouldn't think it would matter if you shredded it yourself or bought the already shredded stuff.