heavy

[ hev-ee ]

/ ˈhɛv i /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: heavy / heavier / heaviest / heavies on Thesaurus.com

adjective, heav·i·er, heav·i·est.

of great weight; hard to lift or carry: a heavy load.

of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive: a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.

of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc.: a heavy sea.

of more than the usual or average weight: a heavy person; heavy freight.

having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity: a heavy metal.

of major import; grave; serious: a heavy offense.

deep or intense; profound:a heavy thinker; heavy slumber.

Military.

thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size.Compare heavy cruiser.
(of guns) of the more powerful sizes: heavy weapons.Compare heavy artillery.

hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive: heavy taxes.

hard to cope with; trying; difficult: a heavy task.

being as indicated to an unusually great degree: a heavy buyer.

broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate: heavy lines drawn in charcoal.

weighted or laden: air heavy with moisture.

fraught; loaded; charged: words heavy with meaning.

depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad: a heavy heart.

without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull: a heavy style.

slow in movement or action; clumsy: a heavy walk.

loud and deep; sonorous: a heavy sound.

(of the sky) overcast or cloudy.

exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick: heavy doughnuts.

(of food) not easily digested.

being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth: heavy with child;heavy with young.

having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output: a heavy truck.

producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing: heavy industry.

sober, serious, or somber: a heavy part in a drama.

Chemistry. of or relating to an isotope of greater than normal atomic weight, as heavy hydrogen or heavy oxygen, or to a compound containing such an element, as heavy water.

Slang.

very good; excellent.
very serious or important: a really heavy relationship.

Phonetics. (of a syllable)

noun, plural heav·ies.

a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character: Iago is the heavy in Othello.

the theatrical role of a villain.

an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.

Military. a gun of great weight or large caliber.

Slang. a very important or influential person: a reception for government heavies.

adverb

heavily.

OTHER WORDS FOR heavy

1 ponderous, massive, weighty.

5 dense.

9 onerous, grievous, cumbersome; difficult, severe.

15 gloomy, mournful, dejected, despondent, downcast, downhearted.

16 tedious, tiresome, wearisome, burdensome, boring.

17 sluggish, lumbering.

19 lowering, gloomy.

See synonyms for heavy on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of heavy

First recorded before 900; Middle English hevi, Old English hefig, equivalent to hef(e) “weight” + -ig; cf. heave -y¹

synonym study for heavy

14. Heavy, momentous, weighty refer to anything having a considerable amount of figurative weight. Heavy suggests the carrying of a figurative burden: words heavy with menace. Momentous emphasizes the idea of great and usually serious consequences: a momentous occasion, statement. Weighty, seldom used literally, refers to something heavy with importance, often concerned with public affairs, which may require deliberation and careful judgment: a weighty matter, problem.

OTHER WORDS FROM heavy

heav·i·ness, nouno·ver·heav·i·ness, nouno·ver·heav·y, adjectiveul·tra·heav·y, adjective

un·heav·i·ness, nounun·heav·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heavy in a sentence

At the same time, the heaviest parts—the main fuselage, the engines and wings—sink to the bottom.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He fought alongside Russian forces in the heaviest fighting of the brief war at Tskhinvali, forcing Georgian forces to retreat.
East Ukraine: Back in the USSR|Jamie Dettmer|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was far and away the heaviest kid all through elementary school, junior high, and high school.
Ron Perlman's Secret Suicide Attempt|William O’Connor|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For now though, the TOW is the heaviest American-made weapon seen on the Syrian battlefield.
The Big Weapons that the U.S. May Be Secretly Supplying to the Syrian Rebels|Thomas Gibbons-Neff|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And so come the most surprising facet of Delia's memoir, her choice to lead with the emotionally heaviest subject—Nora's death.
Delia Ephron Talks Her Memoir, ‘Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog’|Erin Cunningham|September 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then the general started out to secure the longest and heaviest pair of cavalry sabres he could find in Rome.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The heaviest rainfall usually occurs, however, during the summer.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
This blow, struck by Madame Roland, was by far the heaviest the throne of France had yet received.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
They rivaled the Jacobins in the endeavor to see who could strike the heaviest blows against the throne.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
The Pryor makes the heaviest, richest shipping, and can only be grown to perfection on alluvial or heavily manured lands.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for heavy

heavy

/ (ˈhɛvɪ) /

adjective heavier or heaviest

of comparatively great weighta heavy stone

having a relatively high densitylead is a heavy metal

great in yield, quality, or quantityheavy rain; heavy traffic

great or considerableheavy emphasis

hard to bear, accomplish, or fulfilheavy demands

sad or dejected in spirit or moodheavy at heart

coarse or broada heavy line; heavy features

(of soil) having a high clay content; cloggy

solid or fatheavy legs

(of an industry) engaged in the large-scale complex manufacture of capital goods or extraction of raw materialsCompare light 2 (def. 19)

serious; grave

military

armed or equipped with large weapons, armour, etc
(of guns, etc) of a large and powerful type

(of a syllable) having stress or accentuationCompare light 2 (def. 24)

dull and uninterestinga heavy style

prodigiousa heavy drinker

(of cakes, bread, etc) insufficiently leavened

deep and louda heavy thud

(of music, literature, etc)

dramatic and powerful; grandiose
not immediately comprehensible or appealing

slang

unpleasant or tedious
wonderful
(of rock music) having a powerful beat; hard

weighted; burdenedheavy with child

clumsy and slowheavy going

permeatinga heavy smell

cloudy or overcast, esp threatening rainheavy skies

not easily digestiblea heavy meal

(of an element or compound) being or containing an isotope with greater atomic weight than that of the naturally occurring elementheavy hydrogen; heavy water

horse racing (of the going on a racecourse) soft and muddy

slang using, or prepared to use, violence or brutalitythe heavy mob

heavy on informal using large quantities ofthis car is heavy on petrol

noun plural heavies

a villainous role
an actor who plays such a part

military

a large fleet unit, esp an aircraft carrier or battleship
a large calibre or weighty piece of artillery

the heavies (usually plural) informal a serious newspaperthe Sunday heavies

informal a heavyweight boxer, wrestler, etc

slang a man hired to threaten violence or deter others by his presence

Scot strong bitter beer

adverb

in a heavy manner; heavilytime hangs heavy
(in combination)heavy-laden

Derived forms of heavy

heavily, adverbheaviness, noun

Word Origin for heavy

Old English hefig; related to hebban to heave, Old High German hebīg

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with heavy

heavy

In addition to the idioms beginning with heavy

heavy going
heavy hand, with a
heavy heart, with a
heavy hitter

also see:

hot and heavy
make heavy weather of
play the heavy
time hangs heavy

heavy

OTHER WORDS FOR heavy

Origin of heavy

synonym study for heavy

OTHER WORDS FROM heavy

Words related to heavy

How to use heavy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heavy

Derived forms of heavy

Word Origin for heavy

Other Idioms and Phrases with heavy