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heavy

HEV-ee/ˈhɛv.i/

37 meanings of heavy

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  1. 1
    weighs a lotadjective
    Having great weight; difficult to lift or move.

    The movers struggled with a heavy oak dresser.

    Lead is one of the heaviest common metals.

    UsageAsk how heavy something is; a thing can be too heavy to lift. Compare with heavier, heaviest.

    Similarhefty, weighty, massive, ponderous

    Oppositelight, lightweight

    Note

    The literal sense at the center of the word, though not its only early one: Old English hefiġ already meant "important," "grave," "severe" and "oppressive" as well as weighty, so the figurative meanings are as old as the word itself.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Old English hefiġ had literal and figurative meanings, including weighty, important, grave, severe, and oppressive. en.wiktionary.org
    • Figurative meanings were already present in Old English, alongside the literal meaning. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 2
    big (number)adjective
    High or great in amount or degree.

    The company reported heavy losses for the quarter.

    Voter turnout was heavy in the coastal districts.

    UsageCommon with rain, traffic and losses: heavy rain (not incorrect: strong rain), heavy traffic, heavy losses.

    Similarlarge, high, substantial, considerable, severe

    Oppositelight, low, small, slight

  3. 3
    forcefuladjective
    Having great force, power, or intensity.

    The troops came under heavy fire as they advanced.

    Negotiators met heavy resistance at the bargaining table.

    UsageCommon with words of conflict: heavy fire, heavy fighting, heavy resistance.

    Similarfierce, intense, strong, stiff, severe

    Oppositelight, weak, slight

  4. 4
    loud (music)adjective
    Loud, distorted, or intense in sound.

    The track opens with a heavy, distorted bassline.

    Their new album has a heavier sound than before.

    UsageCommon in music talk: a heavy sound, a heavy riff, heavy metal.

    Similarhard, loud, intense

    Oppositelight, soft, mellow, gentle

  5. 5
    burdensomeadjective
    Difficult to bear; burdensome or oppressive.

    The responsibility of command was a heavy one for the young captain.

    Workers protested the heavy demands of the new schedule.

    UsageDescribes the burden itself: a heavy responsibility, heavy news. For the person weighed down, say heavy with grief.

    Similarburdensome, onerous, oppressive, weighty, taxing

    Oppositelight, easy, manageable

    Note

    Here the weight presses on whoever must carry it: yokes, expenses, trials, news. The King James Bible of 1611 has "the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them," Shakespeare a "heavy reckoning," and Wordsworth in 1814 "the heavy news."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • The King James Bible contains “the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them,” in 1 Samuel 5:6. en.wikisource.org
    • Shakespeare uses “a heavy reckoning” in Henry V, Act IV, scene i; Williams is the speaker. gutenberg.org
    • Wordsworth's The Excursion, containing the quoted phrase, was first published in 1814. en.wikisource.org
    • “The heavy news” occurs in Book 1 of The Excursion, in Margaret's speech as recounted by the Wanderer. en.wikisource.org
  6. 6
    adjective
    Having much body or strength.

    The stout is heavy on the palate with a strong malt flavor.

    She prefers a heavier wine with bold, full body.

    Similarfull-bodied, robust, rich, strong, full

    Oppositelight, thin, delicate

  7. 7
    big (user)adjective
    Doing a particular activity much more intensely or often than most people.

    Heavy drinkers face greater health risks over time.

    As a heavy user of the app, she noticed every small change.

    UsageUse heavy before a noun naming someone by an activity: heavy smoker, heavy sleeper. He is heavy usually describes body weight.

    Similarfrequent, habitual, avid, big

    Oppositelight, occasional, moderate, casual

    Note

    An adjective that rates a habit, not a body: heavy sleeper, heavy eater, heavy smoker, heavy drinker. It attaches to a noun that names someone by what they do, and it measures how much or how deeply they do it. A heavy smoker can be thin as a rail.

  8. 8
    big gunsadjective
    Of military units, vessels, or weapons: large and powerful, or heavily armed or armored, for serious combat.

    The admiral sent a heavy cruiser into the strait to protect the oil tankers.

    Heavy artillery pounded the ridge before the infantry advanced.

    Similararmed, armored, strong

    Oppositelight

    Note

    Military and naval classification. Heavy marks one end of a scale whose other end is light, and the scale usually measures firepower and protection, though weight can count too. It forms fixed terms such as heavy artillery, heavy escort and heavy cavalry. That last term also gave English a noun for its troopers, the heavies.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Military classifications can also depend on weight; field artillery has been classified by weight and caliber. ibiblio.org
    • The noun heavies historically denotes members of the heavy cavalry. en.wiktionary.org
  9. 9
    rich (food)adjective
    Of food, rich in fat or protein and therefore hard to digest.

    A heavy cream sauce coated the pasta.

    They served a heavy stew that left everyone full for hours.

    UsageCommon with meals and sauces: a heavy meal. The opposite is light.

    Similarrich, filling, hearty, stodgy, substantial

    Oppositelight

  10. 10
    gloomyadjective
    Serious and somber in tone or mood.

    The play explores heavy themes such as loss and regret.

    Their talk turned heavy when she mentioned the divorce.

    UsageCommon in talk: things got heavy, heavy stuff. Also heavy themes in writing about books and films.

    Similarserious, somber, weighty, grave, dark

    Oppositelight, lighthearted, frivolous

    Note

    A remark can get "pretty heavy," as one does in Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary (2020) when talk of war greets someone who has just woken up. The sense is no newcomer: the Old English ancestor behind the weight sense already meant "grave" and "serious."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  11. 11
    weighed downadjective
    Weighed down, either by a physical load or by grief, pain, or disappointment.

    He returned home with a heavy heart after the bad news.

    The branches hung heavy with ripe fruit.

    UsageUsually heavy with: heavy with fruit, heavy with sleep. Also with a heavy heart.

    Similarladen, burdened, loaded, sorrowful, sad

    Oppositelight

    Note

    The bearer's side of the burden, usually built with "with": heavy with sleep, heavy with child. The last phrase is an old way of saying pregnant. Older writers used it bare for sorrow. Chapman's Homer has "the heavy nobles," meaning sorrowing ones, and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice sets it against its opposite: "A light wife doth make a heavy husband."

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Heavy with child means pregnant. en.wiktionary.org
    • Heavy with child has historical use. en.wikisource.org
    • Chapman's translation of Homer uses "the heavy nobles" for sorrowing nobles, illustrating heavy without a with-complement. beta.perseus.tufts.edu
    • Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice contrasts light and heavy in the quoted words, spoken by Portia. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of heavy apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English "hevy," from Old English "hefig" (heavy, important, grave, oppressive, dull), going back through Proto-West Germanic "*habīg" and Proto-Germanic "*habīgaz" to the Proto-Indo-European root "*keh₂p-" (to take, grasp, hold). It is related to "have," with cognates including Dutch "hevig" (violent, severe) and Icelandic "höfugur" (heavy, weighty).

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts