hefty
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
heavy and solid in a way that feels powerful.
possessing significant physical weight and bulk; powerfully built.
Simple“He lifted the hefty suitcase into the overhead bin with both hands.”
In context“The movers struggled to navigate the narrow staircase while carrying the hefty oak wardrobe, which seemed to weigh more than the rest of the furniture combined.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
large in amount, especially when talking about money or a bill.
impressively large in amount or degree; frequently used to describe financial costs, fines, or rewards.
Simple“The company had to pay a hefty fine for breaking the safety rules.”
In context“After the unexpected repairs, the homeowner was presented with a hefty bill that far exceeded the original estimate provided by the contractor.”
Synonyms
“By now, song collecting was no longer a matter of only transcribing music and lyrics; it also involved using the earliest hefty but portable recording devices.”
19th century. From heft (“weight”) + -y. The similarity with German heftig (“vigorous, violent, intense”) is apparently coincidental. From the German are Dutch, Danish, Norwegian heftig, Swedish häftig.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.