Heavy With: Standard Pattern
Heavy With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “heavy with” when something has a lot of, or is full of, something.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| containing, carrying, or characterized by a large amount of something | heavy with + noun | Use “heavy with” for the documented “full of / loaded with” sense. |
| literal weight without a following content/composition phrase | heavy | Use the adjective without forcing a “with” complement. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you mean that something contains or is filled/loaded with a large amount of what follows?
If yes: Use “heavy with.”
If no: Use another construction if you simply mean high weight or a different sense of “heavy.”
Caveat: This is a documented complement pattern for particular senses of “heavy,” not a universal rule for every use of the adjective.
Examples
The branches were heavy with snow.
“With” introduces what weighs down or fills the branches.
The air was heavy with smoke.
The pattern describes an atmosphere full of smoke.
The table is heavy.
No “with” phrase is needed for literal weight alone.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “heavy with” when something has a lot of, or is full of, something.
Style Boundary
Cambridge treats “heavy with something” as an idiom of abundance. This does not make “with” the normal complement for every sense of “heavy.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- heavy with something — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary entry directly documenting heavy with something for something containing a lot of or being full of it.