I. ˈhevē, -vi adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English hevy, from Old English hefig, Old Saxon hēbig; akin to Old High German hebīc heavy, Old Norse höfugr heavy, Old English hebban to lift, raise — more at heave
1.
a. : having great weight : being such as may be lifted or moved only with effort : weighty , ponderous
a heavy load
b. : having a high specific gravity and great weight in proportion to bulk — opposed to light
gold is one of the heavier metals
c.
(1) of an isotope : having or being atoms of greater than normal mass
carbon 13 and 14 are both heavy carbons
(2) of a compound : characterized by heavy isotopes
heavy ammonia
heavy ice
2.
a. obsolete : harsh , oppressive
b. : hard to bear, endure, accomplish, or fulfill : burdensome
suffering under the heavy exactions of this tyrant
often : grievous , afflictive
a heavy sorrow
3. : of weighty import : serious , grave , consequential
heavy news
words heavy with meaning
4. : deep , profound , intense
a heavy silence
heavy late frosts destroyed the crop
5.
a. : laden or borne down by something weighty or oppressive : encumbered, burdened
returned with heavy spirit from the conference
today's world is heavy with so-called celebrities — J.P.Jones
: bowed down (as with care, grief, sorrow)
a light wife doth make a heavy husband — Shakespeare
b. : pregnant , gravid ; especially : approaching parturition — used chiefly in the phrase heavy with young
6.
a. : slow or dull from or as if from loss of vitality or resiliency : sluggish , inactive
a tired heavy step
a heavy countenance
b. : lacking sparkle or vivacity : drab , stupid , inert
a dull heavy style lacking liveliness and appeal
a heavy writer
c. : lacking mirth or gaiety : doleful , leaden
heavy cheer
made heavy work of the conversation
d. : characterized by declining prices
the market was slow and heavy
government bonds have been heavy for some time
7.
a. : overcome or dulled with weariness : drowsy , sleepy
eyes heavy from prolonged study
b. : dull and confused due to interruption of sleep : having a feeling of disorientation due to the relaxation of sleep
the children were heavy with sleep
8. : greater in quantity or quality than the average of its kind or class: as
a. : unusually or exceptionally large
a heavy fall of snow
heavy crops
heavy traffic
b. : of great force or momentum
a heavy storm
the heaviest sea in the last three seasons
c. : threatening to rain or snow : overcast , lowering
a heavy sky
heavy clouds
d. : impeding motion : cloggy , clayey
a heavy road
cold heavy soils
e. : coming as if from a depth : loud , deep
the heavy roll of thunder
a heavy bass voice
f. : massive , coarse
a heavy scar
a heavy growth of timber
g. : tending to produce dullness or sleepiness : oppressive
the heavy odor of tuberoses
h. : steep , acute
a heavy grade
i. : laborious , difficult
a heavy task
likely to be heavy sledding for a while
j. : being something specified to an exceptional degree
a heavy drinker
heavy losers
industry is a heavy user of electric power
broadly : operating or dealing in large quantities
heavy buying of steel
a heavy buyer
k. : having a high alcohol content : rich in malt and hop constituents and usually dark in color
heavy ale
l. : of large capacity or output
a heavy pump
m. : having a high boiling point — used especially of distillates (as of petroleum)
heavy hydrocarbons
heavy ends present in gasoline
n.
(1) : set or printed in boldface
(2) : made with too much pressure of the sheet against the printing surface
a heavy impression
(3) : 11 points thick — used of the metal of an unmounted printing surface (as a copper engraving, stereotype, or electrotype)
o. of a domino : having a comparatively large number of pips
the 6-6 is heavier than the 6-3
9.
a. : digested slowly or with difficulty usually because of excessive richness or seasoning
a heavy fruitcake
b. : not properly raised or leavened
heavy bread
: lacking in lightness
rich dark cakes often tend to be heavy
10.
a. : belonging to or concerned with a class above a certain usual weight
heavy woolens
heavy trunk lines
heavy breeds
b. : producing metal, mineral, oil, or other basic substances and products derived from them
heavy industries
specifically : producing products on which other industries function
11.
a. : heavily armed with guns of large caliber
heavy dragoons
b. : having maximally concentrated firepower often from a battery of medium-caliber guns
heavy antiaircraft emplacements
c. : heavily armored
12.
a. : having stress or conspicuous sonority
heavy rhythm
— used especially of syllables in accentual verse; contrasted with light
b. : being the strongest of three degrees of stress in speech
the heavy stress on the first syllable of basketball
c. of a consonant : voiced — used especially in connection with shorthand symbolization
13. : relating or assigned to theatrical parts or scenes of a grave or somber nature
played heavy roles for years
Synonyms:
weighty , ponderous , cumbrous , cumbersome , hefty : heavy implies literally of greater weight than the average of its kind or class and figuratively more or less depressing, effort-taking, or unendurable to the mind or spirits, or depressed or dispirited
a heavy bag
a heavy child
a heavy volume of literary criticism
a heavy scent of lilacs
a heavy heart
weighty implies actually and not relatively heavy; figuratively it implies of serious import
a boy carrying weighty packages
a weighty series of international decisions
weighty questions about our future domestic policy
ponderous implies literally a weighty massiveness, usually difficult to maneuver, or figuratively something complicatedly labored, usually suggesting a certain slow and dull deliberateness of mental effort
a ponderous elephant
heavy concentrations of troops and weapons for ponderous operations overland — H.H.Martin
a sober and somewhat ponderous analysis of the police work — Anthony Boucher
a book dealing with the necessity for world organization and the fundamentals of world law might be dull or at least ponderous reading — A.E.Stevenson †1965
cumbrous and cumbersome imply literally a heaviness and bulkiness difficult to move, carry, or otherwise deal with; figuratively, they apply to what is ponderous and unwieldy
cumbrous old-fashioned wagons — Eddie Doherty
one long and cumbrous sentence after another — M.W.Straight
the camel … that lumbering and cumbersome beast — Story of Camel Hair
the cumbersome amendment procedure of the outworn constitution — F.L.Paxson
hefty implies, literally, heaviness or solid weightiness usually as estimated by picking up in one's arms, holding in one's hand, or measuring by the eye against an imagined norm or, figuratively, weighty
a hefty rock
a hefty burden — A.J.Bruwer
hefty peasants — Time
hefty but handsome in her wedding dress — W.S.Maugham
embodying so hefty a theme in a book — Time
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English hevyen, from Old English hefigian, from hefig, adjective
transitive verb
obsolete : to make burdensome : weigh down : oppress , burden
intransitive verb
: to play the role of a heavy
III. adverb
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English hevy, from Old English hefige, from hefig, adjective
: in a heavy manner : heavily
time hung heavy on their hands
a heavy -laden wagon
IV. noun
( -es )
Etymology: heavy (I)
1. heavies plural
a. : heavy cavalry
b. : heavy artillery
c. : heavy tanks of an army or other military force
d. : heavy bombers
2.
a. : heavyweight 1a
b. : a theatrical role or an actor representing a dignified or imposing person
c. : villain 4
3. : something (as underwear or cloth) heavy in comparison with typical members of its kind
V. ˈhēvē, -vi adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: heave (I) + -y
of a horse : affected with heaves
VI. adjective
1. : long 11 — usually used with on
heavy on creative ideas and light on financial plans — Susan Davis
2. : being or playing hard rock
3. : important : prominent
a heavy star unable to escape his groupies — Garry Wills
VII. noun
1. : someone or something influential, serious, or important
2. : muscleman : thug