heavy-duty

adjective

heavy-du·​ty ˈhe-vē-ˈdü-tē 

-ˈdyü-

1

: able or designed to withstand unusual strain

heavy-duty trucks

2

: intensive

heavy-duty bargaining

3

: important, prominent

heavy-duty lawyers

Synonyms

• acute
• almighty
• blistering
• deep
• dreadful
• excruciating
• explosive
• exquisite
• fearful
• fearsome
• ferocious
• fierce
• frightful
• furious
• ghastly
• hard
• heavy
• hellacious
• intense
• intensive
• keen
• profound
• terrible
• vehement
• vicious
• violent

Examples of heavy-duty in a Sentence

some heavy-duty lobbying on the part of the president was necessary in order to get the bill passed

a group of heavy-duty politicians and other notables attended the gala

Recent Examples on the Web

Don't use heavy-duty degreasers or overnight cleaners like Easy-Off, which may not be suitable for the materials on your toaster oven. —Matthew Korfhage, WIRED, 16 Mar. 2025

Goodbye, heavy-duty puffer coats—and hello sleek leather jackets and lightweight trenches! —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2025

The heavy-duty burr grinders are designed to withstand a home next to a hot stove for years. —Andrew Watman, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025

That will be a noticeable boost primarily for a handful of particularly demanding 3D games (the likes of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Resident Evil Village, Infinity Nikki, and Genshin Impact) and some heavy-duty applications only a few people use, like CAD or video editing programs. —Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for heavy-duty

• beauty
• booty
• cutie
• duty
• fruity
• putti
• snooty
• sooty
• sruti
• tutti

Kids Definition

heavy-duty

adjective

heavy-du·​ty

ˌhev-ē-ˈd(y)üt-ē

: able or designed to take hard use or great strain

heavy-duty vehicles