heavy: Meaning and Definition of

heav•y

Pronunciation: (hev'ē), [key]
— adj., n., pl. adv. heav•i•er, heav•i•est, heav•ies,
—adj.
  1. of great weight; hard to lift or carry: a heavy load.
  2. of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive: a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.
  3. of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc.: a heavy sea.
  4. of more than the usual or average weight: a heavy person; heavy freight.
  5. having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity: a heavy metal.
  6. of major import; grave; serious: a heavy offense.
  7. deep or intense; profound: a heavy thinker; heavy slumber.
  8. heavy weapons.
    1. thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size. Cf. heavy cruiser.
    2. (of guns) of the more powerful sizes:heavy weapons.Cf. heavy artillery.
  9. hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive: heavy taxes.
  10. hard to cope with; trying; difficult: a heavy task.
  11. being as indicated to an unusually great degree: a heavy buyer.
  12. broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate: heavy lines drawn in charcoal.
  13. weighted or laden: air heavy with moisture.
  14. fraught; loaded; charged: words heavy with meaning.
  15. depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad: a heavy heart.
  16. without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull: a heavy style.
  17. slow in movement or action; clumsy: a heavy walk.
  18. loud and deep; sonorous: a heavy sound.
  19. (of the sky) overcast or cloudy.
  20. exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick: heavy doughnuts.
  21. (of food) not easily digested.
  22. being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth: heavy with child; heavy with young.
  23. having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output: a heavy truck.
  24. producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing: heavy industry.
  25. sober, serious, or somber: a heavy part in a drama.
  26. 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.
  27. a really heavy relationship.
    1. very good; excellent.
    2. very serious or important:a really heavy relationship.
  28. (of a syllable)
    1. stressed.
    2. long.
—n.
  1. a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character:Othello. Iago is the heavy in
  2. the theatrical role of a villain.
  3. an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
  4. a gun of great weight or large caliber.
  5. a very important or influential person: a reception for government heavies.
—adv.
  1. heavily.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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