ENGLISH
REFERENCE

heavy lifting

idiom
Meaning

The most demanding part of an endeavour; work requiring the most effort, resources, or consideration.


Examples
SIMPLE

He does the heavy lifting for our team.

CONTEXTUAL

While everyone helped with the planning, she did the heavy lifting by writing the entire report.

COMPLEX

Although the partners shared the initial vision, the junior associate performed the heavy lifting required to secure the necessary funding for the project.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    hang heavy

    To seem to pass slowly; to crawl.

  2. 02

    heavy as a dead donkey

    Very heavy.

  3. 03

    heavy equipment

    Any of a diverse class of large machines used in construction and mining for earthmoving tasks (e.g., digging, grading), logging, and other heavy-duty applications.

  4. 04

    heavy foot

    A habit of driving fast.

  5. 05

    heavy going

    Something that is boring; difficult to make progress on, or tedious

  6. 06

    heavy hitter

    A person of considerable importance who is a major decision maker or capable achiever; an especially significant organization or an especially functional object.

  7. 07

    heavy with child

    visibly pregnant

  8. 08

    hot and heavy

    Passionate.

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