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heavy
[ hev-ee ]
adjective
- 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.
Synonyms: dense
- 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: Compare heavy artillery.
heavy weapons.
- hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive:
heavy taxes.
Synonyms: difficult, cumbersome, grievous, onerous, severe
- 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.
Synonyms: downhearted, downcast, despondent, dejected, mournful, gloomy
- without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull:
a heavy style.
Synonyms: boring, burdensome, wearisome, tiresome, tedious
- 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
- 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
heavy
/ ˈhɛvɪ /
adjective
- of comparatively great weight
a heavy stone
- having a relatively high density
lead is a heavy metal
- great in yield, quality, or quantity
heavy traffic
heavy rain
- great or considerable
heavy emphasis
- hard to bear, accomplish, or fulfil
heavy demands
- sad or dejected in spirit or mood
heavy at heart
- coarse or broad
heavy features
a heavy line
- (of soil) having a high clay content; cloggy
- solid or fat
heavy legs
- (of an industry) engaged in the large-scale complex manufacture of capital goods or extraction of raw materials Compare light 2
- 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 accentuation Compare light 2
- dull and uninteresting
a heavy style
- prodigious
a heavy drinker
- (of cakes, bread, etc) insufficiently leavened
- deep and loud
a 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; burdened
heavy with child
- clumsy and slow
heavy going
- permeating
a heavy smell
- cloudy or overcast, esp threatening rain
heavy skies
- not easily digestible
a heavy meal
- (of an element or compound) being or containing an isotope with greater atomic weight than that of the naturally occurring element
heavy hydrogen
heavy water
- horse racing (of the going on a racecourse) soft and muddy
- slang.using, or prepared to use, violence or brutality
the heavy mob
- heavy on informal.using large quantities of
this car is heavy on petrol
noun
- 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 informal.usually plural a serious newspaper
the Sunday heavies
- informal.a heavyweight boxer, wrestler, etc
- slang.a man hired to threaten violence or deter others by his presence
- strong bitter beer
adverb
- in a heavy manner; heavily
time hangs heavy
- ( in combination )
heavy-laden
Derived Forms
- ˈheaviness, noun
- ˈheavily, adverb
Other Words From
- heavi·ness noun
- over·heavi·ness noun
- over·heavy adjective
- ultra·heavy adjective
- un·heavi·ness noun
- un·heavy adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of heavy1
Idioms and Phrases
- hot and heavy
- make heavy weather of
- play the heavy
- time hangs heavy
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
On heavier, more powerful machines, good tires are even more important, as they let you access more of the ATV’s power.
Please note this is a heavy item at approximately 47 pounds.
Smooth binding and rounded corners keep this notebook sturdy after heavy use.
Tech always carries a heavy weight, but that increases markedly when investors bid shares up.
She endorsed Medicare-for-all and a Green New Deal, suggesting that a suburb-heavy state that has trended toward Democrats could have more liberal representation in Washington.
The clichés about football-obsessed husbands and frustrated wives are pretty heavy-handed.
“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.
The running machines are a gloomy chorus of heavy-footed stomping.
“JSwipe is currently under heavy load,” flashed across the screen, one night as a friend and I looked at it.
Up till then I was just a dog-assed heavy, one of the posse.
The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Hunter-Weston despite his heavy losses will be advancing to-morrow which should divert pressure from you.
Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The keen resentment had faded from his face, but an immense reproach was there—a heavy, helpless, appealing reproach.
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Definitions 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.
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