1mass noun A weight in boxing and other sports, typically the heaviest category. In the amateur boxing scale it ranges from 81 to 91 kg.

1. 1.1count noun A heavyweight boxer or other competitor.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Then again, with today's heavyweights that does make him a contender.
   • The two heavyweights shook hands and spoke for a few moments.
   • It's supposed to be a fight between the best light heavyweight in the world and the 25th heavyweight in the world.
   • As most people know, I'm not a big fan of the heavyweights, as they are not only boring for the most-part, but slow moving.
   • The other heavyweights know that they probably won't be hurt or knocked out by him, just humiliated.
   • Tyson hits like no other heavyweight, so when you get hit the first time, it is like a shock to your system.
   • His record equals that of his older brother, Stephen, who dominated the domestic scene as a super-heavyweight and heavyweight.
   • The boxers set a brisk pace for heavyweights, both relying on speed of hand and continual movement.
   • There is wrestling with college kids at Fresno State, where he was an All-American junior heavyweight.
   • It was because they weren't heavyweights, and to expect them to compete with the heavyweight champion, who held the premier title in boxing, was ludicrous.
   • Like another heavyweight, Mike Tyson, Campbell's best days came as a young man.
   • There is a part of me that finds it hard to believe because Ali took it to the body better than any heavyweight ever.
   • But here we're talking heavyweights and neither fighter is exciting to watch, as is most of the rest of that weight class.
   • Where must it be ranked among the great clashes between light heavyweights and heavyweights?
   • I figured I don't have to go out there and be a high-flying junior heavyweight.
   • Burns was one of top three heavyweights at the time and certainly was the best white heavyweight when Jackson fought him.
   • The point is that we really don't know how to evaluate him when matched with a top tier heavyweight.
   • The fighter once regarded as the most talented heavyweight, Mike Tyson, has become better known for doing violence outside the ring than in it.
   • This allows smallish heavyweights to gradually move up without putting their careers at risk, in particular early in their careers.
   • Jones would be best advised to take on small heavyweights if he wants to compete against the big boys, which is where the money is.

2A person or thing of above-average weight.

1. 2.1 A person of influence or importance in a particular sphere.
   a political heavyweight with national recognition

   Example sentencesExamples

   • So why did people disregard what the factional leaders or heavyweights or number crunchers were telling them?
   • Since his death there may not have been a drop-off in crime but the number of high-profile criminal heavyweights has waned.
   • Three environmental heavyweights have urged council chiefs to shelve plans to build two giant wind turbines near York.
   • Tony Blair was assiduous in recruiting intellectual heavyweights to his cause to put some philosophical weight on the party's old skeleton.
   • I am neither a union official nor a political heavyweight, but I do not dismiss out of hand any deed undertaken by someone in defence of others simply because of my personal bias against them.
   • The report makes it clear that despite the haughty posturing of national security heavyweights, we do not have adults watching the store.
   • However, the Catalans have recruited to their cause a notable heavyweight from the world of football politics.
   • Well, this is a race where no introduction was necessary for either of these candidates, both political heavyweights in the state and nationally.
   • Political heavyweights have begun to take notice of the evangelicals’ rise.
   • And this year there is added spice, with the future of a political heavyweight on the line.
   • Among the eight contestants in the constituency, five are backed by parties and most are political heavyweights.
   • American political heavyweights and reclusive Hollywood stars will come together in New York next month to help two Irish men launch a new glossy magazine for dog lovers.
   • By the time he ran for the Senate in 1984 he was already known nationally as a political heavyweight.
   • To get in good shape, each of these political heavyweights has his own plan of action
   • Over the past decade, many Taiwanese political heavyweights and celebrities in various fields have visited the library.
   • As the country's political heavyweights picked city youngsters off a playground slide, it was clear that these images were designed to kick-start the conference in the Sunday papers.
   • Last Wednesday's meeting saw various heavyweights from the political world discussing the issues of the day.
   • All will be revealed on next Friday night when the three political heavyweights as well as many more local protagonists will be throwing their hat into the ring and vying for the coveted title.
   • Certain political heavyweights have reportedly even banged on the table during the meetings.
   • Perhaps some other political, er, heavyweights could benefit from his example.

   Synonyms

   grandee, important person, vip, very important person, notable, notability, worthy, personage, luminary, public figure, pillar of society, leading light, leader, panjandrum

1Of above-average weight.

1. 1.1 Serious, important, or influential.
   heavyweight news coverage

   Example sentencesExamples

   • And in thin trading in the City, banks and telecom stocks were among the heavyweight blue-chips helping to fuel the late rally.
   • He claimed to have heavyweight support and the Yorkshire Post found plenty of backing for his campaign, which provides the first rallying point for the many people who think another tier of government will be a waste of time at best.
   • This is a heavyweight resource about news and breakthroughs in the world of science.
   • The baby is due on July 4 and the 31-year-old heavyweight comic said he was ‘thrilled’ with the news.
   • The harm is if people start thinking these lightweights are providing heavyweight answers.
   • With a serious heavyweight training behind him, his food is already to die for.
   • And it came out in the afternoon, while the heavyweight establishment News ruled the morning.
   • The lesson of the O J Simpson trial was that destroying the credibility of witnesses is a defence strategy that can outbalance the traditional heavyweight pointers of motive, means and opportunity.
   • Then I thought, this guy is a heavyweight cultural icon, better get a grip and make an effort to take it seriously.
   • The trouble is, unfair as it may seem, a sizeable part of judgment is based on precedent - heavyweight disapproval is saved for those who ‘aren't normally like that’.
   • As dean of Aberdeen University's arts and divinity faculty, Torrance is seen as an intellectual, a heavyweight theologian and the strongest competition.
   • While Dr Lamont is about to embark on a three-year study on the history of magic at Edinburgh University, academics at Glasgow University have conducted a heavyweight series of seminars on the subject.
   • He blamed the heavyweight lobbying power of the big banking institutions for the Government's decision to turn its back on post offices.
   • But in addition to being a heavyweight news presenter she has shown skill and financial acumen in producing general and feature programmes for TV.
   • Although his British career has been conducted at a lower pitch since the early 70s, he remains, at 61, among America's most favoured heavyweight interviewers.
   • Another heavyweight contender for an award has to be the Ukrainian man who, while out walking his dog, threw a live hand grenade at a police cadet when the officer tried to point out that the dog should be leashed and muzzled.
   • Perhaps we have been wrong in thinking him a serious, heavyweight politician.
   • Some got merely dozens of votes but very many were serious heavyweight contenders with a wide range of experience.

   Synonyms

   intellectual, highbrow, deep, profound, literary, learned, scholarly, cultured