heavyweight
Americanadjective
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of more than average weight or thickness.
a coat of heavyweight material.
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noting or pertaining to a boxer, wrestler, etc., of the heaviest competitive class, especially a professional boxer weighing more than 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms).
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of or relating to the weight class or division of such boxers.
a heavyweight bout.
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(of a riding horse, especially a hunter) able to carry up to 205 pounds (93 kilograms).
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designating a person, company, nation, or other entity that is extremely powerful, influential, or important.
a team of heavyweight lawyers.
noun
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a person of more than average weight.
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a heavyweight boxer or wrestler.
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a person, company, nation, or other entity that is powerful and influential.
a price hike initiated by the heavyweights in the industry.
noun
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a person or thing that is heavier than average
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a professional boxer weighing more than 175 pounds (79 kg)
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an amateur boxer weighing more than 81 kg (179 pounds)
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( as modifier )
the world heavyweight championship
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a wrestler in a similar weight category (usually over 214 pounds (97 kg))
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informal an important or highly influential person
Etymology
Origin of heavyweight
Explanation
A heavyweight is someone or something that is impressive in relative size or importance. In sports like boxing and wrestling, a heavyweight is a contestant in the group that includes the largest, heaviest competitors. Heavyweight, a compound word formed by joining heavy and weight, was first used in the late 1700s to categorize long-distance race horses who could carry heavier-than-average riders and gear. The sports meaning soon followed, with boxers sorted into lightweight, middleweight, or heavyweight divisions to ensure, for example, that a 225-pound athlete wouldn't be matched against a 130-pound opponent. Figuratively, this word describes an impressive or prominent figure — you might say that a powerful senior lawmaker is a heavyweight in the Senate.
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.
Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley in a fight of the year contender at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on 9 May to become a two-time heavyweight world champion.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
He dropped fellow Briton Dubois twice - including once 10 seconds into the contest - and showed enough resilience and power to reinforce his standing as a genuine world-level heavyweight.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
The 39-year-old - a three-time undisputed champion who ruled at cruiserweight and heavyweight - found a way to win his 25th professional fight, but his opponent questioned the outcome.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
The suit alleged the singer should have known she was profiting off embezzled funds linked to the sprawling case against her ex-husband, former L.A. legal heavyweight Tom Girardi, and his firm Girardi Keese.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
I was in the heavyweight division, and I had neither enough power to compensate for my lack of speed nor enough speed to make up for my lack of power.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
