heavy
- 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)
- 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.
Origin of heavy
Synonyms for heavy
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for heaviest
bulky, huge, excessive, awkward, unwieldy, big, fat, large, burdensome, substantial, massive, hefty, cumbersome, abundant, considerable, weighty, tedious, onerous, tough, harshExamples from the Web for heaviest
Contemporary Examples of heaviest
At the same time, the heaviest parts—the main fuselage, the engines and wings—sink to the bottom.
He fought alongside Russian forces in the heaviest fighting of the brief war at Tskhinvali, forcing Georgian forces to retreat.
I was far and away the heaviest kid all through elementary school, junior high, and high school.
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 RebelsThomas Gibbons-Neff
April 25, 2014
After all, the heaviest attacks on Hagel were directed at his views on Israel and his incautious comments about its supporters.
How the Chuck Hagel Fight Changed the American Jewish Landscape in WashingtonJ. J. Goldberg
August 20, 2013
Historical Examples of heaviest
They were some way from home, and Giles was the biggest and heaviest of them all.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
"The less reason, then, for her being a thief," Gilder grumbled in his heaviest voice.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
The yoke of the Genoese continued longest, and was the heaviest.
The Life of Horatio Lord NelsonRobert Southey
At this, half a score reached him their staves, and he took the stoutest and heaviest of them all.
The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodHoward Pyle
The most numerous shareholders, mark you—not the heaviest shareholders.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
heavy
- 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
- 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
- in a heavy manner; heavilytime hangs heavy
- (in combination)heavy-laden
Word Origin for heavy
Word Origin and History for heaviest
heavy
mid-13c., "something heavy; heaviness," from heavy (adj.). Theatrical sense of "villain" is 1880.
heavy
Old English hefig "heavy, having much weight; important, grave; oppressive; slow, dull," from Proto-Germanic *hafiga "containing something; having weight" (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German hebig, Old Norse hofugr, Middle Dutch hevich, Dutch hevig), from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (see capable). Jazz slang sense of "profound, serious" is from 1937 but would have been comprehensible to an Anglo-Saxon. Heavy industry recorded from 1932. Heavy metal attested by 1839 in chemistry; in nautical jargon from at least 1744 in sense "large-caliber guns on a ship.
While we undervalue the nicely-balanced weight of broadsides which have lately been brought forward with all the grave precision of Cocker, we are well aware of the decided advantages of heavy metal. ["United Services Journal," London, 1830]
As a type of rock music, from 1972.
Idioms and Phrases with heaviest
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