Heavy going Definition 1 of 3Pro Tip 1/3Effort Required Used when something demands extra mental or physical effort to complete or understand. Learning advanced physics is heavy going. Pro Tip 2/3Not Smooth Implies a process is not progressing smoothly and is encountering obstacles or resistance. The negotiation between the companies was heavy going. Pro Tip 3/3Stress and Frustration May suggest the speaker is feeling stress or frustration about the difficulty faced. Completing this puzzle is heavy going.