heavily
Americanadverb
-
with a great weight or burden.
a heavily loaded wagon.
-
in a manner suggestive of carrying a great weight; ponderously; lumberingly.
He walked heavily across the room.
-
in an oppressive manner.
Cares weigh heavily upon him.
-
to suffer heavily.
-
densely; thickly.
heavily wooded.
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in large amounts or in great quantities; very much.
It rained heavily on Tuesday.
-
without animation or vigor; in a dull manner; sluggishly.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of heavily
First recorded before 900; Middle English hevyly, Old English hefiglīce; equivalent to heavy + -ly
Explanation
Anything that happens heavily is weighty, extensive, or labored. A car falling off its jack will crash heavily to the ground, and if you are a new runner, you'll be breathing heavily after the first mile. Sometimes the adverb heavily simply describes the action of something heavy — like kids' feet pounding heavily up the stairs, or an airplane landing heavily on the runway. There's also the "large amount" or "a lot" meaning, like when rain falls heavily or a director is heavily influenced by the cartoons of her childhood. Breathing heavily, on the other hand, means "with effort."
Vocabulary lists containing heavily
"Too Young to Drive?" and "Rules of the Road"
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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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.
France’s Mistral, a three year old AI firm heavily promoted and financially backed by the Macron administration, is a case in point.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
She is carrying on the legacy of Philadelphia as not just a great music city, but a city rich in history and heavily influenced by those that came before them.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
The Central City Assn., relying heavily on funding from Airbnb, spent about $1.6 million on efforts to reelect Bass.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
For some investors, Dow’s outperformance on Thursday is a welcome sign that the bull market is finally broadening after months of being heavily dominated by AI and megacap tech stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
The failed invasion cost the Germans heavily: More than one million German lives were lost.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
