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
1synonym study For heavy
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 |
Other words from heavy
- heav·i·ness, noun
- o·ver·heav·i·ness, noun
- o·ver·heav·y, adjective
- ul·tra·heav·y, adjective
- un·heav·i·ness, noun
- un·heav·y, adjective
Words Nearby heavy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use heavy in a sentence
On heavier, more powerful machines, good tires are even more important, as they let you access more of the ATV’s power.
Six ways to make your ATV even more rugged | By Tyler Freel/Outdoor Life | September 17, 2020 | Popular-SciencePlease note this is a heavy item at approximately 47 pounds.
Great filing cabinets for your home office | PopSci Commerce Team | September 17, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSmooth binding and rounded corners keep this notebook sturdy after heavy use.
Notable notebooks for writing and drawing | PopSci Commerce Team | September 17, 2020 | Popular-ScienceTech always carries a heavy weight, but that increases markedly when investors bid shares up.
3 ways tech stocks resemble the 2000 bubble—and one way they don’t | Anne Sraders | September 16, 2020 | FortuneShe 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.
Trump, in town hall, says he wouldn’t have done anything differently on pandemic | Colby Itkowitz, Josh Dawsey, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 16, 2020 | Washington Post
The clichés about football-obsessed husbands and frustrated wives are pretty heavy-handed.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“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 Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensDrone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftHunter-Weston despite his heavy losses will be advancing to-morrow which should divert pressure from you.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamiltonheavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanThe keen resentment had faded from his face, but an immense reproach was there—a heavy, helpless, appealing reproach.
Confidence | Henry James
British Dictionary definitions for heavy
/ (ˈhɛvɪ) /
of comparatively great weight: a heavy stone
having a relatively high density: lead is a heavy metal
great in yield, quality, or quantity: heavy rain; heavy traffic
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: a heavy line; heavy features
(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 (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 accentuation: Compare light 2 (def. 24)
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
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 newspaper: the 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; heavily: time hangs heavy
(in combination): heavy-laden
Origin of heavy
1Derived forms of heavy
- heavily, adverb
- heaviness, noun
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
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
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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