# heavy

Pronunciation: say "HEV-ee" /ˈhɛv.i/

## Adjective

1. Having great weight; difficult to lift or move.
   - Simple: Weighing a great deal and hard to lift or carry.
   - _The movers struggled with a heavy oak dresser._
   - _Lead is one of the heaviest common metals._
2. High or great in amount or degree.
   - Simple: Large in amount or number.
   - _The company reported heavy losses for the quarter._
   - _Voter turnout was heavy in the coastal districts._
3. Having great force, power, or intensity.
   - Simple: Very strong, hard, or forceful.
   - _The troops came under heavy fire as they advanced._
   - _Negotiators met heavy resistance at the bargaining table._
4. Loud, distorted, or intense in sound.
   - Simple: Very loud, rough, and powerful in sound.
   - _The track opens with a heavy, distorted bassline._
   - _Their new album has a heavier sound than before._
5. Difficult to bear; burdensome or oppressive.
   - Simple: Hard to deal with because it brings worry or trouble.
   - _The responsibility of command was a heavy one for the young captain._
   - _Workers protested the heavy demands of the new schedule._
6. Having much body or strength.
   - Simple: Strong and full in taste or feel.
   - _The stout is heavy on the palate with a strong malt flavor._
   - _She prefers a heavier wine with bold, full body._
7. Doing a particular activity much more intensely or often than most people.
   - Simple: Doing something much more than most people do.
   - _Heavy drinkers face greater health risks over time._
   - _As a heavy user of the app, she noticed every small change._
8. Of military units, vessels, or weapons: large and powerful, or heavily armed or armored, for serious combat.
   - Simple: Large and powerful, or carrying strong weapons or thick armor, for serious fighting.
   - _The admiral sent a heavy cruiser into the strait to protect the oil tankers._
   - _Heavy artillery pounded the ridge before the infantry advanced._
9. Of food, rich in fat or protein and therefore hard to digest.
   - Simple: Full of fat or rich food, so it's hard to digest.
   - _A heavy cream sauce coated the pasta._
   - _They served a heavy stew that left everyone full for hours._
10. Serious and somber in tone or mood.
   - Simple: Serious and sad, not light or fun.
   - _The play explores heavy themes such as loss and regret._
   - _Their talk turned heavy when she mentioned the divorce._
11. Weighed down, either by a physical load or by grief, pain, or disappointment.
   - Simple: Weighed down by a load or by sad feelings.
   - _He returned home with a heavy heart after the bad news._
   - _The branches hung heavy with ripe fruit._
12. Marked by hot, humid conditions.
   - Simple: Hot and damp, with thick, sticky air.
   - _The afternoon turned heavy and humid as storm clouds gathered._
   - _Tropical nights here are heavy with moisture._
13. Made up partly or wholly of an isotope with greater mass than the ordinary form of the element.
   - Simple: Made with atoms that weigh more than the usual kind.
   - _Heavy water contains deuterium instead of ordinary hydrogen._
   - _The lab studied a heavy isotope of carbon._
16. Of petroleum, having high viscosity, so that it flows slowly and resists pumping.
   - Simple: Used about oil that is thick, sticky and slow to flow.
   - _The field produces a heavy crude that must be diluted before shipping._
   - _Heavy grades fetch lower prices than light, sweet oil._
17. Of soil, ground or roads, clogging and clayey, so that movement through it is impeded.
   - Simple: Used about ground or soil that is thick and sticky, making it hard to move through.
   - _After days of rain, the heavy clay soil clung to every boot._
   - _Wagons bogged down on the heavy, waterlogged road._
18. Feeling slow, sluggish, or tired, as of limbs or a mind lacking energy, or of eyelids hard to keep open.
   - Simple: Feeling tired and slow, as when your eyes are hard to keep open or your body feels weak.
   - _His limbs felt heavy and his mind dull after the long flight._
   - _After the long night shift, her eyelids grew heavy and she could barely keep reading._
20. Carrying a weapon, such as a gun or a knife, on one's person. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Carrying a gun, a knife, or another weapon.
   - _He never walked those streets unless he was heavy._
   - _The crew rolled up heavy, expecting a fight._
22. Of baked goods: dense and compact from a failure to rise or leaven properly.
   - Simple: Used about bread that is dense and flat because it did not rise.
   - _Without enough yeast, the loaf turned out heavy and close-grained._
   - _Her scones were heavy, sinking in the middle instead of rising._

## Noun

14. An influential or powerful person; a major player within a field or organization.
   - Simple: An important and powerful person in a group or field.
   - _Several industry heavies showed up to back the new venture._
   - _He's now a heavy in tech circles, courted by every startup._
15. A villain or antagonist; the figure responsible for evil or aggressive acts in a story. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A villain or bad guy in a story: the character behind cruel or violent acts.
   - _In his first big movie, he played the heavy, a cold-blooded gang leader who never smiled._
   - _Old westerns relied on stock heavies in black hats._
21. A doorman, bouncer, or bodyguard employed for physical protection or to control entry. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person hired to guard a door or protect someone, using size and strength.
   - _The promoter brought a heavy along to keep the crowd in line._
   - _Club heavies turned away anyone without a ticket._

## Adverb

19. Heavily; with great weight or force, or to a great extent.
   - Simple: In a heavy way, or a lot.
   - _The news landed heavy and left the family silent._
   - _She dropped heavy onto the couch after the long shift._

## Verb

23. To use power or wealth to pressure a person or institution, such as a government or company, into compliance. *(colloquial, Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: To use money or power to push someone into doing what you want.
   - _The lobby group heavied lawmakers until the bill was quietly shelved._
   - _Corporations sometimes heavy regulators into softening the rules._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of an aircraft: having a relatively high maximum takeoff weight and large payload capacity.
- (noun) A large multi-engined aircraft, such as a wide-body jet or large cargo plane.
- (verb) To increase the weight of something; to make an object heavier or more substantial.
- (verb) To fill with sadness or sorrow; to weigh down a person's spirits or mood.
- (adjective) Of a financial market: marked by falling share prices and a generally downward, weakening tone.
- (adjective) Excellent or impressive.
- (adjective) Deep and thought-provoking.
- (adjective) Expecting a baby.
- (adjective) In air traffic control, describing an aircraft certified to take off at 300,000 pounds or more, as most widebody jets are, and so leaving strong wake turbulence.
- (adverb) To a great degree.
- (noun) A serious, high-quality newspaper, as opposed to a tabloid.
- (noun) A grave or tragic part in a play.
- (noun) A cavalry soldier in a regiment equipped with large horses and armor or heavy weapons.
- (adjective) Of a horse, suffering from the breathing disorder known as heaves.

## 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).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heavy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).