heavy

American  

[hev-ee] / ˈhɛv i /

adjective

heavier, comparative heaviest superlative

1. of great weight; hard to lift or carry.

   a heavy load.

   Synonyms:

   weighty, massive, ponderous

2. of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive.

   a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.

3. of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc..

   a heavy sea.

4. of more than the usual or average weight.

   a heavy person; heavy freight.

5. having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity.

   a heavy metal.

   Synonyms:

   dense

6. of major import; grave; serious.

   a heavy offense.

7. deep or intense; profound.

   a heavy thinker;

   heavy slumber.

8. Military.

   1. thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size.

   2. (of guns) of the more powerful sizes.

      heavy weapons.

9. hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive.

   heavy taxes.

   Synonyms:

   difficult, cumbersome, grievous, onerous, severe

10. hard to cope with; trying; difficult.

    a heavy task.

11. being as indicated to an unusually great degree.

    a heavy buyer.

12. broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate.

    heavy lines drawn in charcoal.

13. weighted or laden.

    air heavy with moisture.

14. fraught; loaded; charged.

    words heavy with meaning.

15. depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad.

    a heavy heart.

    Synonyms:

    downhearted, downcast, despondent, dejected, mournful, gloomy

16. without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull.

    a heavy style.

    Synonyms:

    boring, burdensome, wearisome, tiresome, tedious

17. slow in movement or action; clumsy.

    a heavy walk.

    Synonyms:

    lumbering, sluggish

18. loud and deep; sonorous.

    a heavy sound.

19. (of the sky) overcast or cloudy.

    Synonyms:

    gloomy, lowering

20. exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick.

    heavy doughnuts.

21. (of food) not easily digested.

22. being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth.

    heavy with child;

    heavy with young.

23. having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output.

    a heavy truck.

24. producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing.

    heavy industry.

25. sober, serious, or somber.

    a heavy part in a drama.

26. 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.

27. Slang.

    1. very good; excellent.

    2. very serious or important.

       a really heavy relationship.

28. Phonetics. (of a syllable)

    1. stressed.

    2. long.

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noun

heavies plural

1. a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character.

   Iago is the heavy in Othello.

2. the theatrical role of a villain.

3. an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.

4. Military. a gun of great weight or large caliber.

5. Slang. a very important or influential person.

   a reception for government heavies.

adverb

1. heavily.

heavy British  

/ ˈhɛvɪ /

adjective

1. of comparatively great weight

   a heavy stone

2. having a relatively high density

   lead is a heavy metal

3. great in yield, quality, or quantity

   heavy rain

   heavy traffic

4. great or considerable

   heavy emphasis

5. hard to bear, accomplish, or fulfil

   heavy demands

6. sad or dejected in spirit or mood

   heavy at heart

7. coarse or broad

   a heavy line

   heavy features

8. (of soil) having a high clay content; cloggy

9. solid or fat

   heavy legs

10. (of an industry) engaged in the large-scale complex manufacture of capital goods or extraction of raw materials Compare light 2

11. serious; grave

12. military

    1. armed or equipped with large weapons, armour, etc

    2. (of guns, etc) of a large and powerful type

13. (of a syllable) having stress or accentuation Compare light 2

14. dull and uninteresting

    a heavy style

15. prodigious

    a heavy drinker

16. (of cakes, bread, etc) insufficiently leavened

17. deep and loud

    a heavy thud

18. 1. dramatic and powerful; grandiose

    2. not immediately comprehensible or appealing

19. slang

    1. unpleasant or tedious

    2. wonderful

    3. (of rock music) having a powerful beat; hard

20. weighted; burdened

    heavy with child

21. clumsy and slow

    heavy going

22. permeating

    a heavy smell

23. cloudy or overcast, esp threatening rain

    heavy skies

24. not easily digestible

    a heavy meal

25. (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

26. horse racing (of the going on a racecourse) soft and muddy

27. slang using, or prepared to use, violence or brutality

    the heavy mob

28. informal using large quantities of

    this car is heavy on petrol

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noun

1. 1. a villainous role

   2. an actor who plays such a part

2. military

   1. a large fleet unit, esp an aircraft carrier or battleship

   2. a large calibre or weighty piece of artillery

3. informal (usually plural) a serious newspaper

   the Sunday heavies

4. informal a heavyweight boxer, wrestler, etc

5. slang a man hired to threaten violence or deter others by his presence

6. strong bitter beer

adverb

1. 1. in a heavy manner; heavily

      time hangs heavy

   2. ( in combination )

      heavy-laden

heavy Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing heavy

• hot and heavy
• make heavy weather of
• play the heavy
• time hangs heavy

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Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heaviness
  noun
• overheaviness
  noun
• unheaviness
  noun
• overheavy
  adjective
• ultraheavy
  adjective
• unheavy
  adjective
• heavily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heavies
  plural

Adjectives

• heavier
  comparative
• heaviest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of heavy

First recorded before 900; Middle English hevi, Old English hefig, equivalent to hef(e) “weight” + -ig; cf. heave -y ¹

Explanation

Something that's heavy weighs a lot, either physically or emotionally. It's hard to lift a heavy backpack, and it's hard to handle a heavy topic, like the meaning of life. Bulky, substantial things are heavy, and you can also describe people as heavy, especially if they're big-boned and carry a lot of weight. Thick or strong things are sometimes called heavy as well: "The apple tree was heavy with blossoms, but when the heavy wind started up, they all blew away." Heavy breathing is fast and labored, and heavy food is just too rich or filling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heavy heavies heavier heaviest

But the piece also reflected feelings Valdez had about his long-estranged brother Frank, an engineer whose alienating efforts to deny his own background and fit in formed a heavy undercurrent in Valdez’s life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Ministers have stressed the refinery's strategic importance as a major employer in rural western Ireland and a key supplier to aluminium smelters in Sweden and France which in turn supply European heavy industry.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Officers also dismantled the protesters' stage and makeshift tents at Jantar Mantar, but demonstrators have refused to leave, maintaining a round-the-clock sit-in under heavy police and paramilitary deployment.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Singhi urges former heavy smokers to have annual lung-cancer screenings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

She brought it into the dining room where we had covered the windows with heavy black paper and set out the best cups.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Beating Miami would give Indiana a perfect 16-0 campaign in which they will have thumped heavies like Oregon, Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon again, and everybody else to boot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

He named a long list of industry heavies and bands before adding: "To the homeless and the powerless and the forgotten, we always say thank you."

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025

In the 18-track release, Malone sings alongside country music heavies including Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton and Blake Shelton.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024

De Niro certainly has made a boatload of money playing heavies and knows what he’s talking about.

From Salon ● May 30, 2024

They are smaller shells;—and amongst them, booming through the night like an organ, go the great coal-boxes and the heavies.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Lately, that’s become a heavier burden on the market.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

This pattern indicates that the far side experienced more intense isotopic fractionation, causing the heavier neon isotope to become relatively more abundant.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

But while American lawmakers nudge artificial-intelligence companies to add mental-health guardrails, Beijing is taking a heavier hand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

"The loss of the leader is heavier than losing our parents," Hoda, a 35-year-old housewife, told AFP news agency.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Aristotelians also held that solids are denser and heavier than liquids.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Within the index, energy and tech carried the heaviest second-quarter expectations: Analysts see energy-sector profits more than doubling from a year earlier, while tech earnings are projected to climb 61%.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence powered simulation that could significantly improve our understanding of how the universe creates many of its heaviest elements.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026

In Catia La Mar, just outside the nation’s capital, where some of the heaviest damage had been felt, Rafael Montilla said he and his neighbors were still working alone to find survivors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Sunday's defeat was only 10 points short of rugby league's all-time heaviest defeat, when York Knights beat North Wales Raiders 144-0 in League One in 2018.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

The heaviest rains fall then, and if the river is going to rise, it rises then.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• awkward
• big
• bulky
• burdensome
• considerable
• cumbersome
• excessive
• fat
• hefty
• huge
• large
• massive
• substantial
• unwieldy
• weighty