heavy

1 of 3

adjective

ˈhe-vē

heavier; heaviest

: having great weight

also : characterized by mass or weight

how heavy is it?

: having a high specific gravity : having great weight in proportion to bulk

Lead and gold are heavy metals.

c(1)

of an isotope : having or being atoms of greater than normal mass for that element

heavy carbons

(2)

of a chemical compound : containing heavy isotopes

heavy ammonia

: difficult to bear

specifically : causing or characterized by severe pain or suffering

a heavy sorrow

: of weighty import : serious

heavy consequences

: characterized by depth or intensity : profound

a heavy silence

: borne down by something oppressive : burdened

returned with heavy spirit

: pregnant

especially : approaching parturition

She is heavy with child.

: slow or dull from loss of vitality or resiliency : sluggish

a tired heavy step

: lacking sparkle or vivacity : drab

a heavy writing style

: lacking mirth or gaiety : cheerless

: characterized by declining prices

The market is heavy.

: dulled with weariness : drowsy

eyes were growing heavy

: greater in quantity or quality than the average of its kind or class: such as

: of unusually large size or amount

a heavy turnout

: of great force

heavy seas

: threatening to rain or snow

a heavy sky

heavy clouds

d(1)

: impeding motion

heavy traffic

(2)

: full of clay and inclined to hold water

heavy soil

: coming as if from a depth : loud

heavy breathing

: thick, dense

a heavy beard

a heavy growth of timber

heavy syrup

: oppressive, overwhelming

heavy perfume

heavy weather

rule with a heavy hand

: steep, acute

on a heavy grade

: laborious, difficult

heavy going

: immoderate

a heavy smoker

: more powerful than usual for its kind

a heavy cavalry

a heavy cruiser

: of large capacity or output

a heavy pump

: very rich and hard to digest

heavy desserts

: not properly raised or leavened

heavy bread

: producing goods (such as coal, steel, or chemicals) used in the production of other goods

heavy industry

: having stress (see stress entry 1 sense 5a)

a heavy rhythm

—used especially of syllables in accentual verse

: being the strongest degree of stress in speech

the heavy stress on the first syllable of basketball

: relating to theatrical parts of a grave or somber nature

playing heavy roles

: possessing a high degree or a great deal of something specified : long

heavy on ideas

: important, prominent

a heavy politician

heaviness noun

heavy

2 of 3

adverb

: to a great or overwhelming degree

weighed heavy on her mind

: with or as if with great weight : in a heavy manner : heavily

Clouds hung heavy in the sky.

heavy

3 of 3

noun

plural heavies

: heavyweight sense 2

: a theatrical role of a dignified or somber character

also : an actor playing such a role

: a character in a story or play who opposes the hero : villain

: one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty : villain

: someone or something influential, serious, or important

Choose the Right Synonym for heavy

heavy, weighty, ponderous, cumbrous, cumbersome mean having great weight.

heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

cumbrous and cumbersome imply heaviness and bulkiness that make for difficulty in grasping, moving, carrying, or manipulating.

wrestled with the cumbrous furniture

early cameras were cumbersome and inconvenient

Example Sentences

Adjective “Is that box too heavy for you to lift?” “No, it's not very heavy.” The truck was carrying a heavy load. The man was six feet tall with a heavy build. Turnout for the election is expected to be heavy. We got caught in heavy traffic. Heavy rains caused flooding in the area. She was wearing sunglasses and heavy makeup. The storm caused heavy damage to the building. The company is facing heavy losses this quarter. a day of heavy fighting Adverb The smoke hung heavy in the air. Noun He played the heavy in film after film. The conference will be attended by several media heavies. They have become one of the industry heavies. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Residents from Santa Barbara to San Francisco will once again wake up to rain showers this weekend, while Tahoe and much of the Sierra Nevada will see another round of whiteout conditions as heavy snow falls over Thursday’s fresh powder.

Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Dec. 2022 Meanwhile, the storm blasted through the Sierra Nevada on Thursday, bringing heavy snow, rain, road closures and gusty winds, according to the weather service.

Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2022 Meanwhile, heavy snow impacted traffic in some parts of the Upper Midwest late Tuesday.

Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2022 Meanwhile, heavy snow was snarling traffic in parts of the Upper Midwest.

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2022 The Puget Sound region saw heavy, slushy snow that downed trees and knocked out power to nearly 90,000 customers, KOMO-TV reported.

Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 30 Nov. 2022 This multi-faceted storm system is expected to bring heavy snow to the Columbia River Gorge and the Coast Range.

oregonlive, 29 Nov. 2022 Wet heavy snow is expected with this system and Thanksgiving weekend travel may be impacted by this winter storm system.

Taylor Ward, CNN, 24 Nov. 2022 No longer fazed by the week of uncertainty or the heavy western New York snow, the Bills outscored Cleveland 28-13 from the time of that 10-3 first half lead.

Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 20 Nov. 2022

Adverb

The pushback from places like Jinzhou points to the challenge that Beijing might face in trying to unwind the heavy-handed approach that had until just this week seemed immovable.

Chang Che, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2022 The tough language may signal a heavy-handed crackdown ahead.

Jessie Yeung, CNN, 1 Dec. 2022 Policy moves are either viewed as heavy-handed and regressive or pie-in-the-sky and ineffective.

Danny Mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Nov. 2022 The episode is just the latest example of the somewhat heavy-handed approach to protests the UN and the Egyptian government adopted at the conference held in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 14 Nov. 2022 Today, bankers --and even some regulatory officials-- grumble that the European Central Bank's plans to police climate risks go too far or that authorities are taking a heavy-handed approach to the lucrative business of leveraged finance.

Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2022 Manchevski clearly wanted his film to have the same light and luscious consistency, but his humor is heavy-handed and his gender politics shaky, even if female characters dominate the narrative.

Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2022 Some of the heavy-handed stylistic choices at times undermine Deadwyler's magnificent work by bogging the scene down with too-loud instrumentals and unnecessary pauses for dramatic effect.

Kimi Robinson, The Arizona Republic, 20 Oct. 2022 Depressing as her film can be at times, Hiyakawa’s not nearly as heavy-handed as professional miserabilist Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2022

Noun

Archy Marshall is the moniker of King Krule, specifically used when the Londoner pulls back on his signature baritone crooning style in exchange for something that leans a bit more hip-hop heavy.

Natalie Maher, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Nov. 2022 The poised and sophisticated attorney, who spent much of the season trying to alleviate her anxiety as matters in her career and the world at large weighed heavy, is ready to hang it all up and finally retire from the good fight.

Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2022 As of mid-morning London time: Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 led declines, down 1.2%.

Chelsey Dulaney, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2022 As he’s been known to do, quarterback Aaron Rodgers showed up in grand fashion at the Welcome Back Packers Luncheon, making his entrance in the Lambeau Field Atrium on Wednesday in an ensemble heavy on the denim.

Kendra Meinert, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both slipped 0.4% while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 fell 0.5%.

Dave Sebastian, WSJ, 4 July 2022 The same cannot be said for Willis, whose distracted and empty performance as the main heavy is hard to watch after the news of his Aphasia diagnosis.

Rene Rodriguez, Variety, 17 May 2022 Many performers instinctively go big when playing the heavy.

James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Apr. 2022 Of course, Wood’s signature tech-heavy Innovation fund, in which Zoom is the largest holding, is down 66% from its 52-week high.

Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 9 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heavy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.