Also: heavy-hearted
Meaning of Idiom ‘Heavy Heart’
To have a heavy heart means to be sad or depressed, usually about something that is happening or that one has to do. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
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Usage
We usually use this idiom with the word with to mean ‘with sadness and regret’ or ‘unhappily’ and it tends to be somewhat formal.
Example Of Use
“With a heavy heart, I have will be stepping down from my post as CEO.”
“With heavy hearts, the family said goodbye to their beloved pet.”
“He had a heavy heart after moving away from his childhood home, but he knew it was necessary.”
“She broke off her relationship with a heavy heart, knowing she may be making a big mistake.”
Origin
The adjective heavy has been used to mean ‘weighed down with sadness or regret’ since the 1300s. Its opposite is light. The heart has long been thought of as the seat of one’s emotions. 2Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
More Idioms Starting withÂ
More Body Part Idioms
- Go Belly Up
- Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
- In One’s Face
- Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand
- Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
- Work One’s Fingers To the Bone
- Thumb Your Nose At Someone Meaning
More Have Idioms
- Have Something Out
- Have It In For Someone
- Have a Bone To Pick
- Have It Out With Someone
- If I Had My Druthers
More Heart Idioms
- Home is Where the Heart Is
- My Heart Sank | One’s Heart Sinks
- Heart Skips a Beat
- To Your Heart’s Content
- Why Do We Say By Heart Instead of By Brain to Mean Mermorize?
More Heavy Idioms
More Sadness Idioms