heft
Americannoun
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weight; heaviness.
It was a rather flimsy chair, without much heft to it.
-
significance or importance.
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Archaic. the bulk or main part.
verb (used with object)
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to test the weight of by lifting and balancing.
He hefted the spear for a few moments, and then flung it at the foe.
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to heave; hoist.
verb
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to assess the weight of (something) by lifting
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to lift
noun
-
weight
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the main part
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has heftedperfect 3rd person singular
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have heftedperfect
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have been heftingperfect progressive
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are heftingprogressive
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am heftingprogressive 1st person singular
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is heftingprogressive 3rd person singular
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heftssingular 3rd person
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has been heftingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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heftingparticiple
Past
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had heftedperfect
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was heftingprogressive singular
-
were heftingprogressive plural
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had been heftingperfect progressive
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heftedparticiple
-
heftedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of heft
Explanation
Heft is the bulk or weight of a person or thing. You might shift the heft of that huge bag of dog food you just bought over to your left arm while you use your right hand to open the door. The heft of your big suitcase might make you question the wisdom of packing so many books. You can use heft as a verb, too — you could move the books into your backpack and then heft it back onto your shoulder. Heft comes from the verb heave, "lift with effort," modeled on verb/noun combinations like "thieve" and "theft" or "weave" and "weft."
Vocabulary lists containing heft
"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 2 of the epic poem
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Prisoner B-3087
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Wolf Hollow
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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.
When a term like “mother” is employed so generously, it loses all substantive heft.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
Larger economies can exploit pressure points that flow from their heft in the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Originally pitched as a movie, the comeback is subdivided instead into 30-minute-long quarters, giving them a certain heft, whereas a “TV movie” might have felt like a throwaway, an afterthought.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Amazon has a long history of successful investing, and of profitably renting out the computing heft that it builds.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Academia was just beginning to sense the United States government’s potential heft as a patron of scientific research.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
