heavy

[hev-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heavy 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.

Nearby words

Origin of heavy

before 900; Middle English hevi, Old English hefig, equivalent to hef(e) weight (akin to heave) + -ig -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR heavy

1. ponderous, massive, weighty. 5. dense. 9. onerous, grievous, cumbersome; difficult, severe. 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. 15. gloomy, mournful, dejected, despondent, downcast, downhearted. 16. tedious, tiresome, wearisome, burdensome, boring. 17. sluggish, lumbering. 19. lowering, gloomy.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heavy ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for heaviest

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

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 Washington|J. J. Goldberg|August 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Willing to take the heaviest blow, if only he might land as heavy a smash in return, Dan tore away at his foe.
Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories|Albert Payson Terhune
If so, the Bar may indeed seriously block the heaviest commerce.
The Columbia River|William Denison Lyman
"The less reason, then, for her being a thief," Gilder grumbled in his heaviest voice.
Within the Law|Marvin Dana
This helm is one of the heaviest in existence, for it weighs 25 lb.
Armour & Weapons|Charles John Ffoulkes
The period of largest water supply usually nearly coincides with that of heaviest lighting load, but this is not always true.
Electric Transmission of Water Power|Alton D. Adams

British Dictionary definitions for heaviest

heavy

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 Formsheavily, 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

Word Origin and History for heaviest

heavy

mid-13c., "something heavy; heaviness," from heavy (adj.). Theatrical sense of "villain" is 1880.

heavy

adj.

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

heavy

adjective, heav·i·er, heav·i·est.

noun, plural heav·ies.

adverb

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Nearby words

Origin of heavy

Examples from the Web for heaviest

heavy

adjective heavier or heaviest

noun plural heavies

adverb

Word Origin for heavy

heavy

heavy

heavy