heavy

/ˈhɛv.i/

//ˈhɛv.i// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heavy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heavy” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,170. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,170
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having great weight.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heavy · heavy · English

heavy · rank #1,170 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,170
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH happens

Nearest frequency peer: happens (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “heavy”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “heavy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

heavy vs hey
60% similar
heavy vs henry
60% similar
heavy vs hefty
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for heavy
PropertyValue
Headwordheavy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhɛv.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,170
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heavy” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).heavy lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around heavy (IPA /ˈhɛv.i/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,170 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 26 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for heavy, with forms such as "ehavy", "haevy", and "heavvy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hey", "henry", "hefty", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, hefty, wei… The correct English form is heavy, spelled H-E-A-V-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having great weight.
  2. 2
    Having great weight.
  3. 3
    Serious, somber.
  4. 4
    Not easy to bear; burdensome; oppressive.
  5. 5
    Good.
  6. 6
    Profound.
  7. 7
    High, great.
  8. 8
    Armed.
  9. 9
    Loud, distorted, or intense.
  10. 10
    Hot and humid.
  11. 11
    Doing the specified activity more intensely than most other people.
  12. 12
    With eyelids difficult to keep open due to tiredness.
  13. 13
    High in fat or protein; difficult to digest.
  14. 14
    Of great force, power, or intensity; deep or intense.
  15. 15
    Laden with that which is weighty; encumbered; burdened; bowed down, either with an actual burden, or with grief, pain, disappointment, etc.
  16. 16
    Slow; sluggish; inactive; or lifeless, dull, inanimate, stupid.
  17. 17
    Impeding motion; cloggy; clayey.
  18. 18
    Not raised or leavened.
  19. 19
    Having much body or strength.
  20. 20
    With child; pregnant.
  21. 21
    Containing one or more isotopes that are heavier than the normal one.
  22. 22
    Of petroleum, having high viscosity.
  23. 23
    Of a market: in which the price of shares is declining.
  24. 24
    Heavily-armed.
  25. 25
    Having a relatively high takeoff weight and payload.
  26. 26
    Having a relatively high takeoff weight and payload.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how heavy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Can you help me carry this? It's really heavy.
  2. Use the scales to measure how heavy it is.

Etymology

From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to take, grasp, hold”). Related to have. Cognate with Scots hevy, havy, heavy (“heavy”), Saterland Frisian heeuwich, häwich (“violent, angry”), West Frisian hevich (“violent”), Dutch hevig (“violent, severe, intense, acute”), German Low German hevig (“violent, fierce, intense, angry”), German hebig (compare heftig (“fierce, severe, intense, violent, heavy”)), Icelandic höfugur (“heavy, weighty, important”), Latin capāx (“large, wide, roomy, spacious, capacious, capable, apt”). Compare typologically Russian объёмный (obʺjómnyj), ёмкий (jómkij) (akin to име́ть (imétʹ), взять (vzjatʹ)).

Synonyms

sweerswear

Antonyms

light

This word in other languages

pesado(Español)lourd(Français)schwer(Deutsch)pesado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehavy
  • haevy
  • heavvy
  • heavyy
  • heayv
  • hevay
  • hheavy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heavy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ehavy2haevy2heavvy1heavyy1heayv2hevay2hheavy1
Edit distance from "heavy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heavy"?
"heavy" is spelled H-E-A-V-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɛv.i/.
What does "heavy" mean?
As an adjective, "heavy" means: Having great weight.
What words are commonly confused with "heavy"?
"heavy" is commonly confused with "hey", "henry", "hefty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heavy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heavy" is /ˈhɛv.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heavy"?
From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "heavy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

train#1,176costs#1,163coach#1,160claim#1,181

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

teams7 variantsgoals7 variantshotel7 variantsscene7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "heavy". Here's where to go from here.

  • "heavy" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "hey". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,170 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list