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heavy

- 9 dictionary results

heav⋅y

  [hev-ee] adjective, heav⋅i⋅er, heav⋅i⋅est, noun, plural heav⋅ies, adverb
Use heavy in a Sentence
–adjective
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.
a. thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size. Compare heavy cruiser.
b. (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.
a. very good; excellent.
b. very serious or important: a really heavy relationship.
28. Prosody. (of a syllable)
a. stressed.
b. long.
–noun
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:
bef. 900; ME hevi, OE hefig, equiv. to hef(e) weight (akin to heave ) + -ig -y 1

Related forms:
heav⋅i⋅ness, noun

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To heavy
heav·y   (hěv'ē)   
adj.   heav·i·er, heav·i·est
  1. Having relatively great weight: a heavy load.
  2. Having relatively high density; having a high specific gravity.
    1. Large, as in number or quantity: a heavy turnout; heavy casualties.
    2. Large in yield or output: heavy rainfall.
    3. Having great power or force: a heavy punch.
    4. Violent; rough: heavy seas.
    5. Equipped with massive armaments and weapons: a heavy cruiser; heavy infantry.
    6. Large enough to fire powerful shells: heavy guns.
    7. Indulging to a great degree: a heavy drinker.
    8. Involved or participating on a large scale: a heavy investor.
    9. Having considerable thickness: a heavy coat.
    10. Broad or coarse: drew the face with heavy lines.
    11. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    12. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    13. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    14. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    15. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    16. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    17. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    18. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    19. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    20. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    21. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    22. Of great significance or profundity.
    23. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
  4. Of great intensity: heavy activity; heavy fighting.
    1. Having great power or force: a heavy punch.
    2. Violent; rough: heavy seas.
    3. Equipped with massive armaments and weapons: a heavy cruiser; heavy infantry.
    4. Large enough to fire powerful shells: heavy guns.
    5. Indulging to a great degree: a heavy drinker.
    6. Involved or participating on a large scale: a heavy investor.
    7. Having considerable thickness: a heavy coat.
    8. Broad or coarse: drew the face with heavy lines.
    9. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    10. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    11. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    12. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    13. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    14. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    15. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    16. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    17. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    18. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    19. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    20. Of great significance or profundity.
    21. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
    1. Equipped with massive armaments and weapons: a heavy cruiser; heavy infantry.
    2. Large enough to fire powerful shells: heavy guns.
    3. Indulging to a great degree: a heavy drinker.
    4. Involved or participating on a large scale: a heavy investor.
    5. Having considerable thickness: a heavy coat.
    6. Broad or coarse: drew the face with heavy lines.
    7. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    8. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    9. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    10. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    11. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    12. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    13. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    14. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    15. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    16. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    17. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    18. Of great significance or profundity.
    19. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
    1. Indulging to a great degree: a heavy drinker.
    2. Involved or participating on a large scale: a heavy investor.
    3. Having considerable thickness: a heavy coat.
    4. Broad or coarse: drew the face with heavy lines.
    5. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    6. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    7. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    8. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    9. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    10. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    11. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    12. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    13. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    14. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    15. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    16. Of great significance or profundity.
    17. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
  8. Of great import or seriousness; grave: heavy matters of state.
    1. Having considerable thickness: a heavy coat.
    2. Broad or coarse: drew the face with heavy lines.
    3. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    4. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    5. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    6. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    7. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    8. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    9. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    10. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    11. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    12. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    13. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    14. Of great significance or profundity.
    15. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
    1. Dense; thick: a heavy fog.
    2. Slow to dissipate; strong: "There was a heavy fragrance of flowers and lemon trees" (Mario Puzo).
    3. Too dense or rich to digest easily: a heavy dessert.
    4. Insufficiently leavened: heavy bread.
    5. Full of clay and readily saturated: heavy soil.
    6. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    7. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    8. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    9. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    10. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    11. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    12. Of great significance or profundity.
    13. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
    1. Weighed down; burdened: trees heavy with plums.
    2. Emotionally weighed down; despondent: a heavy heart.
    3. Marked by or exhibiting weariness: heavy lids.
    4. Sad or painful: heavy news.
    5. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    6. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    7. Of great significance or profundity.
    8. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
    1. Hard to do or accomplish; arduous: heavy going; heavy reading.
    2. Not easily borne; oppressive: heavy taxes.
    3. Of great significance or profundity.
    4. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
  13. Lacking vitality; deficient in vivacity or grace: a heavy gait; heavy humor.
  14. Sharply inclined; steep: a heavy grade.
  15. Having a large capacity or designed for rough work: a heavy truck.
  16. Of, relating to, or involving the large-scale production of basic products, such as steel: heavy industry.
  17. Of or relating to a serious dramatic role.
  18. Physics Of or relating to an isotope with an atomic mass greater than the average mass of that element.
  19. Loud; sonorous: a heavy sound; heavy breathing.
  20. Linguistics Of, relating to, or being a syllable ending in a long vowel or in a vowel plus two consonants.
  21. Slang
    1. Of great significance or profundity.
    2. Very popular or important: a rock star who is really heavy.
adv.   heav·i·er, heav·i·est
Heavily: The snow is falling heavier tonight than last night.
n.   pl. heav·ies
    1. A serious or tragic role in a play.
    2. An actor playing such a role.
  2. Slang A villain in a story or play.
  3. Slang A mobster.
  4. Slang One that is very important or influential: a media heavy.

[Middle English hevi, from Old English hefig; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
heav'i·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean having a relatively great weight. Heavy refers to what has great physical weight (a heavy boulder) and figuratively to what is burdensome or oppressive to the spirit (heavy responsibilities). Weighty literally denotes having considerable weight (a weighty package); figuratively, it describes what is onerous, serious, or important (a weighty decision). Hefty refers principally to physical heaviness or brawniness: a hefty book; a tall, hefty wrestler.
Massive describes what is bulky, heavy, solid, and strong: massive marble columns.
Ponderous refers to what has great mass and weight and usually implies unwieldiness: ponderous prehistoric beasts.
Figuratively it describes what is complicated, involved, or lacking in grace: a book with a ponderous plot.
Something cumbersome is difficult to move, handle, or deal with because it is heavy, bulky, or clumsy: cumbersome luggage.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Heavy

Heav"y\, a. Having the heaves.

Heavy

Heav"y\, a. [Compar. Heavier; superl. Heaviest.] [OE. hevi, AS. hefig, fr. hebban to lift, heave; akin to OHG. hebig, hevig, Icel. h["o]figr, h["o]fugr. See Heave.]

1. Heaved or lifted with labor; not light; weighty; ponderous; as, a heavy stone; hence, sometimes, large in extent, quantity, or effects; as, a heavy fall of rain or snow; a heavy failure; heavy business transactions, etc.; often implying strength; as, a heavy barrier; also, difficult to move; as, a heavy draught.

2. Not easy to bear; burdensome; oppressive; hard to endure or accomplish; hence, grievous, afflictive; as, heavy yokes, expenses, undertakings, trials, news, etc.

The hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod. --1 Sam. v. 6.

The king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make. --Shak.

Sent hither to impart the heavy news. --Wordsworth.

Trust him not in matter of heavy consequence. --Shak.

3. Laden with that which is weighty; encumbered; burdened; bowed down, either with an actual burden, or with care, grief, pain, disappointment.

The heavy [sorrowing] nobles all in council were. --Chapman.

A light wife doth make a heavy husband. --Shak.

4. Slow; sluggish; inactive; or lifeless, dull, inanimate, stupid; as, a heavy gait, looks, manners, style, and the like; a heavy writer or book.

Whilst the heavy plowman snores. --Shak.

Of a heavy, dull, degenerate mind. --Dryden.

Neither [is] his ear heavy, that it can not hear. --Is. lix. 1.

5. Strong; violent; forcible; as, a heavy sea, storm, cannonade, and the like.

6. Loud; deep; -- said of sound; as, heavy thunder.

But, hark! that heavy sound breaks in once more. --Byron.

7. Dark with clouds, or ready to rain; gloomy; -- said of the sky.

8. Impeding motion; cloggy; clayey; -- said of earth; as, a heavy road, soil, and the like.

9. Not raised or made light; as, heavy bread.

10. Not agreeable to, or suitable for, the stomach; not easily digested; -- said of food.

11. Having much body or strength; -- said of wines, or other liquors.

12. With child; pregnant. [R.]

Heavy artillery. (Mil.) (a) Guns of great weight or large caliber, esp. siege, garrison, and seacoast guns. (b) Troops which serve heavy guns.

Heavy cavalry. See under Cavalry.

Heavy fire (Mil.), a continuous or destructive cannonading, or discharge of small arms.

Heavy metal (Mil.), large guns carrying balls of a large size; also, large balls for such guns.

Heavy metals. (Chem.) See under Metal.

Heavy weight, in wrestling, boxing, etc., a term applied to the heaviest of the classes into which contestants are divided. Cf. Feather weight (c), under Feather.

Note: Heavy is used in composition to form many words which need no special explanation; as, heavy-built, heavy-browed, heavy-gaited, etc.

Heavy

Heav"y\, adv. Heavily; -- sometimes used in composition; as, heavy-laden.

Heavy

Heav"y\, v. t. To make heavy. [Obs.] --Wyclif.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : heavy
Spanish: pesado,
German: schwer,
Japanese: 重い
More Translations »

heavy 
O.E. hefig, from P.Gmc. *khabigas (cf. O.N. hebig, O.N. hofugr), from *kafjanan and thus related to heave (q.v.). Theatrical (noun) sense of "villain" is 1880, from the adj. Jazz slang sense of "profound, serious" is from 1937. Heavy-handed was originally (1633) "weary" or "clumsy," sense of "overbearing" is first recorded 1883. Heavyweight is 1857, of horses, 1877 of fighters.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Heavy

A term used to describe a futures market showing difficulty in advancing or a tendency to decline.

Investopedia Commentary

A heavy market will usually show slight declines and very few rises in price. This type of market is generally unfavorable for speculators attempting to capitalize on predictions of price movements.

See also: Break, Bulge, Buoyant, Futures Market, Hardening, Speculator

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heavy

In addition to the idioms beginning with heavy, also see hot and heavy; make heavy weather of; play the heavy; time hangs heavy.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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