Dictionary


heav•y



Pronunciation: (hev'ē), [key]
—adj., heav•i•er, heav•i•est,
—n., pl. heav•ies,
—adv.

—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. Mil.
a. thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size. Cf. heavy cruiser.
b. (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. Chem.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. Slang.
a. very good; excellent.
b. very serious or important: a really heavy relationship.
28. Pros.(of a syllable)
a. stressed.
b. long.

—n.
1. a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character: Iago is the heavy in Othello.
2. the theatrical role of a villain.
3. an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
4. Mil.a gun of great weight or large caliber.
5. Slang.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.

Heaviside unit functionheavy artillery
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