- to a great degree; in large amounts
- It was raining heavily.
- to drink heavily
- to be bleeding heavily
- to be heavily taxed
- heavily armed police (= carrying a lot of weapons)
- a heavily pregnant woman (= one whose baby is nearly ready to be born)
- They are both heavily involved in politics.
- He relies heavily on his parents.
- She has been heavily criticized in the press.
- Their music is heavily influenced by heavy metal and punk rock.
- Last year the college invested heavily in new technology.
- These companies depend heavily on government support.
- The country's economy is heavily dependent on foreign investment and aid.
- The book draws heavily on case studies in Ethiopia.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- with a lot of force or effort
- She fell heavily to the ground.
- heavily built (of a person) with a large, solid and strong body
- slowly and loudly
- She was now breathing heavily.
- He was snoring heavily.
- in a slow way that sounds as though you are worried or sad
- He sighed heavily.
- in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable or anxious
- Silence hung heavily in the room.
- The burden of guilt weighed heavily on his mind.
- heavily loaded/laden full of or loaded with heavy things
- a heavily loaded van
- The car was heavily laden on the way home.
Check pronunciation:
heavily