heavy
adjective /ˈhevi/
/ˈhevi/
(comparative heavier, superlative heaviest)
Idioms - a heavy weight/load
- She was struggling with a heavy suitcase.
- My brother is much heavier than me.
- He tried to push the heavy door open.
- How heavy is it (= how much does it weigh)?
- (especially North American English) Many young people today are too heavy (= fat).
- (figurative) Her father carried a heavy burden of responsibility.
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearancea2- The bottles of wine made the bag even heavier.
- You're getting too heavy to carry!
- She felt her eyelids growing heavy (= she was getting sleepy).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- the noise of heavy traffic
- heavy rain/rainfall/snow
- the effects of heavy drinking
- There was heavy fighting in the capital last night.
- The British suffered heavy losses in the battle.
- His unit came under heavy fire from insurgents.
- The penalty for speeding can be a heavy fine.
- She spoke with heavy irony.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- get
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- a heavy drinker/smoker
- a heavy sleeper
- (of somebody/something’s appearance or structure) large and solid
- big, dark rooms full of heavy furniture
- He was tall and strong, with heavy features.
- (of the material or substance that something is made of) thick
- heavy curtains
- a heavy coat
- heavy with something (literary) full of or loaded with something
- trees heavy with apples
- The air was heavy with the scent of flowers.
- His voice was heavy with sarcasm.
- She was heavy with child (= pregnant).
- [usually before noun] (of machines, vehicles or weapons) large and powerful
- a wide range of engines and heavy machinery/equipment
- heavy lorries/trucks
- [usually before noun] involving a lot of work or activity; very busy
- a heavy schedule
- She'd had a heavy day.
- hard, especially because it requires a lot of physical strength
- heavy lifting
- A gardener comes in to do the heavy work for me.
- falling or hitting something with a lot of force
- a heavy fall/blow
- large in amount or very solid
- a heavy lunch/dinner/meal
- Avoid heavy foods that are difficult to digest.
- [only before noun] (of soldiers) carrying heavy weapons
- the heavy infantry/cavalry
- (of a sound that somebody makes) loud and deep
- heavy breathing
- a heavy groan/sigh
- heavy on something (informal) using a lot of something
- Older cars are heavy on gas.
- Don't go so heavy on the garlic.
- (usually disapproving) (of a book, programme, style, etc.) serious; difficult to understand or enjoy
- We found the play very heavy.
- The discussion got a little heavy.
- dangerous because of big waves, etc.
- strong winds and heavy seas
- The heavy Atlantic swells pounded the beach.
- hot and without enough fresh air, in a way that feels unpleasant
- It's very heavy—I think there'll be a storm.
- wet, sticky and difficult to dig or to move over
- (of a person) very strict and severe
- Don't be so heavy on her—it wasn't her fault.
weighing a lot
worse than usual
drinker/smoker/sleeper
solid
material
full of something
machines
busy
work
fall/hit
meal/food
army
sound
using a lot
serious/difficult
sea/ocean
air/weather
soil
strict
Word OriginOld English hefig, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hevig, also to heave.
Idioms
get heavy
- (informal) to become very serious, because strong feelings are involved
- They started shouting at me. It got very heavy.
- Then he got heavy and tried to kiss me.
- Things were starting to get a bit heavy so I decided to leave.
have a (heavy) cross to bear
- to have a difficult problem that makes you worried or unhappy but that you have to deal with
- We all have our crosses to bear.
heavy going
- used to describe somebody/something that is difficult to deal with or understand
- She's a bit heavy going.
- I found the course rather heavy going.
heavy hand
- a way of doing something or of treating people that is much stronger and less sensitive than it needs to be
- the heavy hand of management
a heavy heart
- a very sad feeling
- She left her children behind with a heavy heart.
the heavy mob/brigade
- (British English, informal) a group of strong, often violent people employed to do something such as protect somebody
a heavy silence/atmosphere
- a situation when people do not say anything, but feel embarrassed or uncomfortable
make heavy weather of something
- to seem to find something more difficult or complicated than it needs to be
- People in this country make such heavy weather of learning languages.
take a heavy toll (on somebody/something) | take its toll (on somebody/something)
- to have a bad effect on somebody/something; to cause a lot of damage, deaths, pain, etc.
- Illness had taken a heavy toll on her.
- The recession is taking its toll on the housing markets.
- The pressure of fame can take a terrible toll.