adjective, heav·i·er, heav·i·est.
- of great weight; hard to lift or carry: a heavy load.
- of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive: a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.
- of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc.: a heavy sea.
- of more than the usual or average weight: a heavy person; heavy freight.
- having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity: a heavy metal.
- of major import; grave; serious: a heavy offense.
- deep or intense; profound: a heavy thinker; heavy slumber.
- Military.
- thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size.Compare heavy cruiser.
- (of guns) of the more powerful sizes: heavy weapons.Compare heavy artillery.
- hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive: heavy taxes.
- hard to cope with; trying; difficult: a heavy task.
- being as indicated to an unusually great degree: a heavy buyer.
- broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate: heavy lines drawn in charcoal.
- weighted or laden: air heavy with moisture.
- fraught; loaded; charged: words heavy with meaning.
- depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad: a heavy heart.
- without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull: a heavy style.
- slow in movement or action; clumsy: a heavy walk.
- loud and deep; sonorous: a heavy sound.
- (of the sky) overcast or cloudy.
- exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick: heavy doughnuts.
- (of food) not easily digested.
- being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth: heavy with child; heavy with young.
- having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output: a heavy truck.
- producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing: heavy industry.
- sober, serious, or somber: a heavy part in a drama.
- 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.
- Slang.
- very good; excellent.
- very serious or important: a really heavy relationship.
- Phonetics. (of a syllable)
noun, plural heav·ies.
- a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character: Iago is the heavy in Othello.
- the theatrical role of a villain.
- an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
- Military. a gun of great weight or large caliber.
- Slang. a very important or influential person: a reception for government heavies.
adverb
adjective heavier or heaviest
- of comparatively great weighta heavy stone
- having a relatively high densitylead is a heavy metal
- great in yield, quality, or quantityheavy rain; heavy traffic
- great or considerableheavy emphasis
- hard to bear, accomplish, or fulfilheavy demands
- sad or dejected in spirit or moodheavy at heart
- coarse or broada heavy line; heavy features
- (of soil) having a high clay content; cloggy
- solid or fatheavy legs
- (of an industry) engaged in the large-scale complex manufacture of capital goods or extraction of raw materialsCompare light 2 (def. 19)
- serious; grave
- military
- armed or equipped with large weapons, armour, etc
- (of guns, etc) of a large and powerful type
- (of a syllable) having stress or accentuationCompare light 2 (def. 24)
- dull and uninterestinga heavy style
- prodigiousa heavy drinker
- (of cakes, bread, etc) insufficiently leavened
- deep and louda heavy thud
- (of music, literature, etc)
- dramatic and powerful; grandiose
- not immediately comprehensible or appealing
- slang
- unpleasant or tedious
- wonderful
- (of rock music) having a powerful beat; hard
- weighted; burdenedheavy with child
- clumsy and slowheavy going
- permeatinga heavy smell
- cloudy or overcast, esp threatening rainheavy skies
- not easily digestiblea heavy meal
- (of an element or compound) being or containing an isotope with greater atomic weight than that of the naturally occurring elementheavy hydrogen; heavy water
- horse racing (of the going on a racecourse) soft and muddy
- slang using, or prepared to use, violence or brutalitythe heavy mob
- heavy on informal using large quantities ofthis car is heavy on petrol
noun plural heavies
-
- a villainous role
- an actor who plays such a part
- military
- a large fleet unit, esp an aircraft carrier or battleship
- a large calibre or weighty piece of artillery
- the heavies (usually plural) informal a serious newspaperthe Sunday heavies
- informal a heavyweight boxer, wrestler, etc
- slang a man hired to threaten violence or deter others by his presence
- Scot strong bitter beer
adverb
-
- in a heavy manner; heavilytime hangs heavy
- (in combination)heavy-laden
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.
mid-13c., “something heavy; heaviness,” from heavy (adj.). Theatrical sense of “villain” is 1880.
In addition to the idioms beginning with heavy
- heavy going
- heavy hand, with a
- heavy heart, with a
- heavy hitter
also see:
- hot and heavy
- make heavy weather of
- play the heavy
- time hangs heavy