heavyweight

English

Etymology

From heavy +‎ weight.

Pronunciation

• enPR: en, hĕʹvēwāt, IPA^(key): /ˈhɛ.vi.weɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

heavyweight (plural heavyweights)

1. A very large, heavy, or impressive person.

   an intellectual heavyweight

   • 2005 April 19, Eric Boehlert, “Time hearts Ann Coulter”, in Salon‎^[1], archived from the original on 2006-05-17:

     When Time magazine named Ann Coulter among its 100 "most influential people" last week, alongside such heavyweights as Ariel Sharon, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Kim Jong Il and the Dalai Lama, the choice produced guffaws online.

   • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):

     Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Who's he?

     Patrick: He's only the most popular kid in school.

     Allen Gregory: Ah, the two heavyweights finally meet. Sure you're tired of all the buzz. Allen Gregory DeLongpre.

     Joel Zadak: Joel...Zadak!

2. (uncountable, boxing) The professional boxing weight class for boxers weighing more than 190 pounds; a boxer in that division.
3. (uncountable, by extension) A similar division and contestant in other sports.

Derived terms

• junior heavyweight
• light heavyweight
• non-heavyweight, nonheavyweight
• superheavyweight

Translations

large, heavy or impressive person

• Danish: sværvægter c
• Finnish: raskassarjalainen (fi)
• Georgian: მძიმეწონიანი (mʒimec̣oniani)
• German: Schwergewicht (de) n
• Icelandic: þungavigtar m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tungvekter m

  Nynorsk: tungvektar m

• Russian: тяжелове́с (ru) m (tjaželovés)
• Spanish: pez gordo (es) m

weight class in boxing and other sports

• Bulgarian: тежка категория f (težka kategorija)
• Danish: sværvægt c
• Dutch: zwaargewicht (nl) n
• Finnish: raskassarja (fi)
• French: poids lourd (fr) m
• German: Schwergewicht (de) n
• Icelandic: þungavigtar m
• Mongolian: хүнд жин (xünd žin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tungvekt m or f

  Nynorsk: tungvekt f

• Polish: waga ciężka (pl) f
• Romanian: categorie grea (ro) f
• Russian: тяжелове́с (ru) m (tjaželovés)
• Swedish: tungvikt (sv) c
• Turkish: ağır sıklet (tr)

Adjective

heavyweight (not comparable)

1. Of the heavyweight boxing (or similar) division.
2. Being relatively heavy.
3. Being a leader in one's field.
4. Important or impressive.
   • 2016 October 24, Owen Gibson, “Is the unthinkable happening – are people finally switching the football off?”, in The Guardian‎^[2], London:

     The Olympics, the weather and a comparative lack of heavyweight clashes so far this season have been cited as reasons for the drop in viewers.

   • 2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC‎^[3]:

     In recent years, much has been made of the lack of new heavyweight male star power in mainstream Hollywood. Talented performers may be everywhere, but Movie Stars, capital M, capital S, are something else.

See also

• lightweight
• midweight