heavy

[ hev-ee ]

/ ˈhɛv i /

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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

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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

Words nearby heavy

heavily, heaving, Heaviside, Heaviside layer, Heaviside unit function, heavy, heavy artillery, heavy-bearded, heavy bomber, heavy breather, heavy chain

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-Science
Please note this is a heavy item at approximately 47 pounds.
Great filing cabinets for your home office|PopSci Commerce Team|September 17, 2020|Popular-Science
Smooth binding and rounded corners keep this notebook sturdy after heavy use.
Notable notebooks for writing and drawing|PopSci Commerce Team|September 17, 2020|Popular-Science
Tech 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|Fortune

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.
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|DAILY BEAST
“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The running machines are a gloomy chorus of heavy-footed stomping.
How to Survive the New Year ‘Gympocalypse’|Tim Teeman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“JSwipe is currently under heavy load,” flashed across the screen, one night as a friend and I looked at it.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The 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 Hichens
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Hunter-Weston despite his heavy losses will be advancing to-morrow which should divert pressure from you.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The 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

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 nearby 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