heaviest

Heaviest is the superlative form of heavy, used to indicate the greatest weight or mass within a defined group or context. In ordinary use, it describes objects, beings, or substances that have more weight than others being compared. In scientific writing, weight is the force exerted by gravity on a mass, so "heaviest" denotes the largest weight under the same gravitational field; mass itself remains constant regardless of location.

Common examples: the heaviest animal overall is the blue whale, far exceeding other living creatures in mass; the heaviest land animal is the African bush elephant, with typical weights around 6 to 7 tons. In materials science, osmium is often cited as one of the densest elements, and thus among the heaviest metals by density, though weight depends on size and gravity.

The term can also be used metaphorically, as in "the heaviest burden" or "the heaviest rainfall on record." Etymologically, heaviest is formed from heavy plus the standard English suffix -est, and shares its core meaning with related adjectives such as heavier and lightest.

Usage considerations: because weight varies with gravity, comparisons of heaviest objects should specify the reference environment (Earth, Moon, etc.). In astronomy or cosmology, discussions of "heaviest" typically refer to objects by mass or gravitational influence rather than weight, which is not defined outside a gravity field.