heave to

British

verb

Also: lay to. (adverb) to stop (a vessel) or (of a vessel) to stop, as by trimming the sails, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Seattle trailed 12-7 when quarterback Russell Wilson unleashed a desperate heave to the end zone in the final seconds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Atkinson cleared his front leg again, attempting another heave to the leg side, but Siraj's yorker was pinpoint.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

For Alabama, wide receiver Isaiah Bond has shown a flair for the dramatic, catching Milroe’s 31-yard heave to the back corner of the end zone to beat Auburn.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2023

But Love looked deep and his heave to Samori Toure was picked off by backup safety P.J.

From Washington Times • Oct. 23, 2023

The umbrella of fog had lifted and Miyax ran up the side of her frost heave to see how her family was.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023