heavily
Americanadverb
-
with a great weight or burden.
a heavily loaded wagon.
-
in a manner suggestive of carrying a great weight; ponderously; lumberingly.
He walked heavily across the room.
-
in an oppressive manner.
Cares weigh heavily upon him.
-
to suffer heavily.
-
densely; thickly.
heavily wooded.
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in large amounts or in great quantities; very much.
It rained heavily on Tuesday.
-
without animation or vigor; in a dull manner; sluggishly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heavily
First recorded before 900; Middle English hevyly, Old English hefiglīce; equivalent to heavy + -ly
Explanation
Anything that happens heavily is weighty, extensive, or labored. A car falling off its jack will crash heavily to the ground, and if you are a new runner, you'll be breathing heavily after the first mile. Sometimes the adverb heavily simply describes the action of something heavy — like kids' feet pounding heavily up the stairs, or an airplane landing heavily on the runway. There's also the "large amount" or "a lot" meaning, like when rain falls heavily or a director is heavily influenced by the cartoons of her childhood. Breathing heavily, on the other hand, means "with effort."
Vocabulary lists containing heavily
"Too Young to Drive?" and "Rules of the Road"
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But some top officials gathered in Bangkok this week cautioned against relying too heavily on AI investment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Android competitors offer larger inner display areas, but Apple focuses heavily on the quality of the hinge and concealing the crease where the phone folds rather than sheer screen real estate, analysts say.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
And again, the burden falls heavily on agricultural regions, where the fuel is used to power tractors, combines and trucks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
A key part of City's defence will be that the Independent Commission relied too heavily on the emails obtained through the Football Leaks files.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He wanted to discuss a trouble spot of increasing concern to the United States: a mountainous, heavily forested country winding more than a thousand miles along the coast of Southeast Asia.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
