heav•y
Pronunciation: (hev'ē), [key]
— adj., n., pl. adv. heav•i•er, heav•i•est, heav•ies,
—adj.
- of great weight; hard to lift or carry: a heavy load.
- of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive: a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.
- of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc.: a heavy sea.
- of more than the usual or average weight: a heavy person; heavy freight.
- having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity: a heavy metal.
- of major import; grave; serious: a heavy offense.
- deep or intense; profound: a heavy thinker; heavy slumber.
- heavy weapons.
- thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size. Cf. heavy cruiser.
- (of guns) of the more powerful sizes:heavy weapons.Cf. heavy artillery.
- hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive: heavy taxes.
- hard to cope with; trying; difficult: a heavy task.
- being as indicated to an unusually great degree: a heavy buyer.
- broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate: heavy lines drawn in charcoal.
- weighted or laden: air heavy with moisture.
- fraught; loaded; charged: words heavy with meaning.
- depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad: a heavy heart.
- without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull: a heavy style.
- slow in movement or action; clumsy: a heavy walk.
- loud and deep; sonorous: a heavy sound.
- (of the sky) overcast or cloudy.
- exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick: heavy doughnuts.
- (of food) not easily digested.
- being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth: heavy with child; heavy with young.
- having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output: a heavy truck.
- producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing: heavy industry.
- sober, serious, or somber: a heavy part in a drama.
- 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.
- a really heavy relationship.
- very good; excellent.
- very serious or important:a really heavy relationship.
- (of a syllable)
- stressed.
- long.
—n.
- a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character:Othello. Iago is the heavy in
- the theatrical role of a villain.
- an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
- a gun of great weight or large caliber.
- a very important or influential person: a reception for government heavies.
—adv.
- heavily.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.