heavy lifting
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of heavy lifting
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This time, it was Korda — the 2025 runner-up — who did the heavy lifting.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
"There was a lot of heavy lifting going on behind the scenes at the club at that point in time," Kroenke said.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
But Gyllenhaal conveys little of that interiority, letting the screenplay do all of the heavy lifting.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Ever since Big Tech went all in on artificial intelligence more than three years ago, seven companies have done the heavy lifting for overall S&P 500 earnings growth.
From MarketWatch • May 25, 2026
I don’t know where they moved the couches, but I do know they did a lot of heavy lifting to set this up for me, and that I should be more appreciative than I am.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
