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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,170 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#1,170
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having great weight.

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

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). heavy lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for heavy is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɛv.i/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,170 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 26 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

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.

Using “heavy”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-A-V-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhɛv.i/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “hey” - see the side-by-side comparison. heavy vs hey
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list