heavy

[hev-ee] /ˈhɛv i/
adjective, heavier, heaviest.
1.
of great weight; hard to lift or carry:
a heavy load.
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.
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.
    Compare heavy cruiser.
  2. (of guns) of the more powerful sizes:
    heavy weapons.
    Compare heavy artillery.
9.
hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive:
heavy taxes.
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.
16.
without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull:
a heavy style.
17.
slow in movement or action; clumsy:
a heavy walk.
18.
loud and deep; sonorous:
a heavy sound.
19.
(of the sky) overcast or cloudy.
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 pertaining 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.
Prosody.
  1. stressed.
  2. long.
noun, plural heavies.
29.
a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character: Iago is the heavy in Othello.
30.
the theatrical role of a villain.
31.
an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
32.
Military. a gun of great weight or large caliber.
33.
Slang. a very important or influential person:
a reception for government heavies.
adverb
34.
heavily.
Origin
before 900; Middle English hevi, Old English hefig, equivalent to hef(e) weight (akin to heave) + -ig -y1
Related forms
heaviness, noun
overheaviness, noun
overheavy, adjective
ultraheavy, adjective
unheaviness, noun
unheavy, adjective
Synonyms
1. ponderous, massive, weighty. 5. dense. 9. onerous, grievous, cumbersome; difficult, severe. 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. 15. gloomy, mournful, dejected, despondent, downcast, downhearted. 16. tedious, tiresome, wearisome, burdensome, boring. 17. sluggish, lumbering. 19. lowering, gloomy.
Examples from the web for heavy
  • When you hoist two items of equal weight, your brain may be doing some heavy lifting.
  • Many governments are facing not only slow economic growth but also big deficits and heavy debts.
  • Before installing a system, consult a builder or engineer to make sure your roof can handle the extra weight from heavy rainfall.
  • And the life-changing potential in small communities is different from that in large or tourist-heavy cities.
  • In addition, recycling the heavy metals in batteries is a difficult task.
  • She has a way of talking about sad, heavy, difficult things with a kind of shrug-with a feeling of offhandedness.
  • If he is melancholy and heavy, his clothes are joyful and weightless.
  • The lungs, usually as light and airy as cotton candy, were as heavy and thick as liver.
  • The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds and heavy rains.
  • The heavy lifting is done by the nine-engine cluster, fuelled by kerosene and liquid oxygen.
British Dictionary definitions for heavy

heavy

/ˈhɛvɪ/
adjective heavier, heaviest
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 light2 (sense 19)
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 light2 (sense 24)
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.
(of music, literature, etc)
  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) heavy on, using large quantities of: this car is heavy on petrol
noun (pl) heavies
29.
  1. a villainous role
  2. an actor who plays such a part
30.
(military)
  1. a large fleet unit, esp an aircraft carrier or battleship
  2. a large calibre or weighty piece of artillery
31.
(usually pl) (informal) the heavies, a serious newspaper: the Sunday heavies
32.
(informal) a heavyweight boxer, wrestler, etc
33.
(slang) a man hired to threaten violence or deter others by his presence
34.
(Scot) strong bitter beer
adverb
35.
  1. in a heavy manner; heavily: time hangs heavy
  2. (in combination): heavy-laden
Derived Forms
heavily, adverb
heaviness, noun
Word Origin
Old English hefig; related to hebban to heave, Old High German hebīg
Word Origin and History for heavy
adj.

Old English hefig "heavy, having much weight; important, grave; oppressive; slow, dull," from Proto-Germanic *hafiga "containing something; having weight" (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German hebig, Old Norse hofugr, Middle Dutch hevich, Dutch hevig), from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (see capable). Jazz slang sense of "profound, serious" is from 1937 but would have been comprehensible to an Anglo-Saxon. Heavy industry recorded from 1932. Heavy metal attested by 1839 in chemistry; in nautical jargon from at least 1744 in sense "large-caliber guns on a ship.

While we undervalue the nicely-balanced weight of broadsides which have lately been brought forward with all the grave precision of Cocker, we are well aware of the decided advantages of heavy metal. ["United Services Journal," London, 1830]
As a type of rock music, from 1972.

n.

mid-13c., "something heavy; heaviness," from heavy (adj.). Theatrical sense of "villain" is 1880.

Slang definitions & phrases for heavy

heavy

adjective
  1. Serious; intense •The ancient sense was revived during the 1920s: heavy petting/ heavy correcting (1971+)
  2. Excellent; wonderful; cool: These guys were not simply cool. They were heavy, totally hip, and totally trustworthy (1960s+ Counterculture)
  3. Important; consequential; prominent: The heaviest art form on the planet is certainly films/ You said we were meeting this heavy actress/ He must have been blowing some heavy politics (1842+)
noun
  1. A thug; hoodlum; goon (1920s+)
  2. The villain in a play, movie, situation, action, etc; baddie, dirty heavy: It mattered not at all that his employers were the heavies of the piece (1880+ Theater)
  3. An important person; big shot, heavyweight: will continue to stitch up the local heavies (1940s+)
  4. A big wave: good set of heavies (1970s+ Surfers)
Related Terms

walk heavy


Idioms and Phrases with heavy

heavy

also see: