lift

American  

[lift] / lɪft /

verb (used with object)

• lifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lifted,
  past participle,  past
• lifting
  present participle

1. to move or bring (something) upward from the ground or other support to a higher position; hoist.

   Synonyms:

   elevate

   Antonyms:

   lower

2. to raise or direct upward: to lift one's head.

   He lifted his arm in a gesture of farewell;

   to lift one's head.

3. to remove or rescind by an official act, as a ban, curfew, or tax.

   a court decision to lift the ban on strikes by teachers.

4. to stop or put an end to (a boycott, blockade, etc.).

   The citizenry will have to conserve food and water until the siege against the city is lifted.

5. to hold up or display on high.

6. to raise in rank, condition, estimation, etc.; elevate or exalt (sometimes used reflexively): By hard work they lifted themselves from poverty.

   His first book lifted him from obscurity.

   By hard work they lifted themselves from poverty.

7. to make audible or louder, as the voice or something voiced.

   The congregation lifted their voices in song.

8. to transfer from one setting to another.

   For the protagonist of the new play, the author has lifted a character from an early novel.

9. Informal. to plagiarize.

   Whole passages had been lifted from another book.

10. Informal. to steal.

    His wallet was lifted on the crowded subway.

11. airlift.

12. to remove (plants and tubers) from the ground, as after harvest or for transplanting.

13. Horology. (of an escape wheel) to move (a pallet) by moving along the outer, oblique face.

14. to pay off (a mortgage, promissory note, etc.).

15. Golf. to pick up (the ball), as to move it from an unplayable lie.

16. to perform a surgical lift on.

17. Shipbuilding.

    1. to transfer (measurements and the like) from a drawing, model, etc., to a piece being built.

    2. to form (a template) according to a drawing, model, etc.

18. to cease temporarily from directing (fire or bombardment) on an objective or area.

    They lifted the fire when the infantry began to advance.

19. Fox Hunting. to take (hounds) from the line of a fox to where it has just been seen.

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verb (used without object)

• lifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lifted,
  past participle,  past
• lifting
  present participle

1. to go up; yield to upward pressure: The lid won't lift.

   The box is too heavy to lift.

   The lid won't lift.

2. to pull or strain upward in the effort to raise something.

   to lift at a heavy weight.

3. to move upward or rise; rise and disperse, as clouds or fog.

4. (of rain) to stop temporarily.

5. to rise to view above the horizon when approached, as land seen from the sea.

noun

• lifts
  plural

1. the act of lifting, raising, or rising.

   the lift of a hand.

2. the distance that anything rises or is raised.

   a lift of 20 feet between canal locks.

3. a lifting or raising force.

   A kite depends on the wind to act as its lift.

4. the weight, load, or quantity lifted.

5. an act or instance of helping to climb or mount.

   He gave her a lift onto the wagon.

6. a ride in a vehicle, especially one given to a pedestrian.

   Can you give me a lift across town?

7. a feeling of exaltation or uplift.

   Their visit gave me quite a lift.

8. assistance or aid.

   The fund-raiser's successful efforts proved a great lift for the organization.

9. a device or apparatus for lifting.

   a hydraulic lift.

10. a movement in which a dancer, skater, etc., lifts up his partner.

11. a cosmetic surgery that lifts and tightens a specified part of the body and removes excess skin and fat: a breast lift;

    an arm lift;

    a breast lift;

    a buttocks lift.

12. Skiing.

    1. ski lift.

    2. chairlift.

13. British.

    1. elevator.

    2. any device used to lift or elevate, as a dumbwaiter or hoist.

14. Informal. a theft.

15. a rise or elevation of ground.

16. Aeronautics. the component of the aerodynamic force exerted by the air on an airfoil, having a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion and causing an aircraft to stay aloft.

17. Nautical.

    1. the capacity of a cargo ship measured in dead-weight tons.

    2. topping lift.

18. one of the layers of leather forming the heel of a boot or shoe.

19. a special arch support built or inserted into footwear.

20. Mining. the slice or thickness of ore mined in one operation.

21. Building Trades. the height of the quantity of concrete poured into a form at one time.

22. Naval Architecture. any of the horizontal planks forming a type of half model lift model, able to be removed and measured as a guide to laying out the water lines of the vessel at full scale.

23. Typesetting. fat.

24. Printing. the quantity of paper loaded into or removed from a press or other printing machine at one time.

25. Horology.

    1. the displacement of a pallet by an escape wheel that has been unlocked.

    2. the angle through which the pallet passes when so displaced.

26. airlift.

lift ¹ British  

/ lɪft /

noun

1. the sky

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lift ² British  

/ lɪft /

verb

1. to rise or cause to rise upwards from the ground or another support to a higher place

   to lift a sack

2. to move or cause to move upwards

   to lift one's eyes

3. (tr) to take hold of in order to carry or remove

   to lift something down from a shelf

4. (tr) to raise in status, spirituality, estimation, etc

   his position lifted him from the common crowd

5. (tr) to revoke or rescind

   to lift tax restrictions

6. to make or become audible or louder

   to lift one's voice in song

7. (tr) to take (plants or underground crops) out of the ground for transplanting or harvesting

8. (intr) to disappear by lifting or as if by lifting

   the fog lifted

9. to transport in a vehicle

10. informal (tr) to take unlawfully or dishonourably; steal

11. informal (tr) to make dishonest use of (another person's idea, writing, etc); plagiarize

12. slang (tr) to arrest

13. (tr) to perform a face-lift on

14. (tr) to pay off (a mortgage, etc)

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noun

1. the act or an instance of lifting

2. the power or force available or used for lifting

3. 1. US and Canadian word: elevator. a platform, compartment, or cage raised or lowered in a vertical shaft to transport persons or goods in a building

   2. See chairlift ski lift

4. the distance or degree to which something is lifted

5. a usually free ride as a passenger in a car or other vehicle

6. a rise in the height of the ground

7. a rise in morale or feeling of cheerfulness usually caused by some specific thing or event

8. the force required to lift an object

9. a layer of the heel of a shoe, etc, or a detachable pad inside the shoe to give the wearer added height

10. aid; help

11. mining

    1. the thickness of ore extracted in one operation

    2. a set of pumps used in a mine

12. 1. the component of the aerodynamic forces acting on a wing, etc, at right angles to the airflow

    2. the upward force exerted by the gas in a balloon, airship, etc

13. See airlift

lift Scientific  

/ lĭft /

1. An upward force acting on an object. Lift can be produced in many ways; for example, by creating a low-pressure area above an object, such an airplane wing or other airfoil that is moving through the air, or by lowering the overall density of an object relative to the air around it, as with a hot air balloon.

2. Compare drag See also airfoil buoyancy See Note at aerodynamics

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Synonym Usage

See raise.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lifter
  noun
• underlift
  noun
• liftable
  adjective
• unliftable
  adjective
• unlifted
  adjective
• unlifting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lifts
  plural

Participles

• lifting
  present
• lifted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lift
  simple
• lifts
  simple
• have lifted
  perfect
• has lifted
  perfect
• am lifting
  progressive
• are lifting
  progressive
• is lifting
  progressive
• have been lifting
  perfect progressive
• has been lifting
  perfect progressive

Past

• lifted
  simple
• had lifted
  perfect
• was lifting
  progressive
• were lifting
  progressive
• had been lifting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lift
  simple
• will have lifted
  perfect
• will be lifting
  progressive
• will have been lifting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of lift

First recorded in 1250–1300; 1955–60 lift for def. 10; Middle English liften, from Old Norse lypta, derivative of lopt “air,” cognate with German lüften literally, “to take aloft”; see loft

Explanation

To lift something is to pick it up, or raise it in the air. You'll need to lift a flag before you start waving it. You can lift things literally, like when you lift your cat in the air to save it from your dog's slobbery tongue, or lift your glass for a New Year's Eve toast. You can also lift things figuratively, like when someone lifts your spirits, cheering you up, or when winning first prize in a contest lifts a writer from obscurity, elevating her position in the literary world. In Britain, lift is also another word for "elevator."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lift lifts lifted lifting

Kingdom, the administration has asked the court, on the emergency docket, to lift an injunction currently preventing it from implementing policies that seek to deprive trans prisoners of much-needed healthcare and social accommodations.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

It’s why the lift call is, according to Jennens, “the most important part of our day.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

In southern England, the Midlands and East Anglia, any early mist and fog should lift to leave a mostly dry day with sunny spells.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"It's a partial win," Stephanie Brinley, an automotive analyst at Mobility Global, said of the lift from Trump's tariffs to the US auto industry.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

I flick my eyes back to Mom and lift my chin defiantly.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

And if she had gotten all the lifts and tucks we expect of a TV star, we’d be criticizing her for that too.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

However he thinks the new rules will not suit young people who live in rural areas, who don't have access to public transport and rely heavily on lifts.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Tang said he hoped AI was "a rising tide that lifts all boats, because... a healthy innovation ecosystem needs to be able to have strength in as many areas of technology as possible".

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Lunch-hour nose jobs and low-intervention brow and arm lifts trade dramatic results for minimal anesthesia and quicker recoveries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

His eyes are closed and his face lifts toward the sun.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

The announcement comes about a month after Mistral completed a funding round led by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics that lifted its valuation above $24 billion, giving it additional firepower to invest in model development.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Expectations that interest rates would be lifted at least once more this year -- after September's hike -- have sent government borrowing costs soaring, with 10-year US Treasury yields last week hitting a 24-year high.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Lighter weights can be just as effective if they are lifted more times.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

When asked whether Wales' success had lifted a weight off his shoulders, Bellamy revealed he had "felt the stick" ever since the Bosnia loss.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Breath comes back into my body, the stress of it all lifted.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Coulson, 69, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was director of Coulson Lifting Services and was in charge of lifting services.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Mattie Music Group previously brought legal action against rapper Kendrick Lamar in 2016 for allegedly lifting from Withers’ “Don’t You Want to Stay.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Better to embrace the reversion to normal mortgage rates and focus on lifting worker wages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

For example, performing 20 to 25 repetitions with a lighter weight can produce similar improvements to lifting a heavier weight ten times, provided the effort is high.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

The flowers on his skin were stirring, some lifting off as if responding to his great anxiety.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• cancel
• dismantle
• end
• relax
• remove
• rescind
• reverse
• stop