heavy artillery
12
5.0
- noun
- /ˈhɛvi ɑrˈtɪləri/
- Specialized
:
artillería pesada
- Tanks, heavy artillery, a thousand Marines waiting for you, you haven't got a chance.
- heavy artillery fire
- heavy artillery piece
- heavy artillery barrage
They were seeing heavy, heavier and heavier artillery fire going into into Donbass from the Ukrainian side.
- They were seeing heavy, heavier and heavier artillery fire going into into Donbass from the Ukrainian side.
Examples
-
Its 60,000 soldiers will be able, if threatened, to call on heavy artillery, battle tanks, attack helicopters, and bombers.
Academic text (1998) -
I had to bring in the heavy artillery.
-
I see we're gonna have to bring out the heavy artillery.
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Heavy artillery for the other side is always ready to fire.
Academic text (1999) -
Heavy artillery was needed, desperately needed, and yet it was not available.
Fiction book (1990) -
Following the 9 March announcement, another U.S. official complained that China was "still shipping heavy artillery and ammunition to Iran."
Academic text (1990) -
Right now, many other cities in Libya are under heavy artillery fire from Ghaddafi's forces.
Blog text (22) -
The army deployed heavy artillery to ensure the enemy positions were thoroughly destroyed.
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During the battle, the general ordered a barrage of heavy artillery to break the enemy's defenses.
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The military exercise showcased new capabilities in heavy artillery for long-range bombardment.
Synonyms
184
6.9
Large guns on land that fire shells over long distances
103
3.9
A large heavy gun often on wheels or ships that fires heavy shells
10
9.9
A large gun with a short barrel that fires shells high to hit nearby targets
2
5.8
Large mobile guns that armies use to fire at enemy positions to help front-line troops
How Powerful
- Specialized
12
5.0
- Specialized
1
6.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'large guns with a high calibre' is directly and compositionally derived from 'heavy' (large, weighty/intense) combined with 'artillery' (large‑calibre guns). This is a straightforward collocational use that follows normal modifier+noun composition and is cross‑linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Heavy artillery gives a clear picture of very heavy artillery—huge guns and cannons that are hard to move and make loud booms. Because these slow, powerful guns were used to fire at and destroy targets from far away, the phrase means 'large, powerful guns used at long range'.