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Synonyms

heft

American  
[heft] / hɛft /

noun

  1. weight; heaviness.

    It was a rather flimsy chair, without much heft to it.

  2. significance or importance.

  3. Archaic. the bulk or main part.


verb (used with object)

  1. to test the weight of by lifting and balancing.

    He hefted the spear for a few moments, and then flung it at the foe.

  2. to heave; hoist.

heft British  
/ hɛft /

verb

  1. to assess the weight of (something) by lifting

  2. to lift

"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

noun

  1. weight

  2. the main part

"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

Other Word Forms

  • hefter noun
  • unhefted adjective

Etymology

Origin of heft

1550–60; heave + -t, variant of -th 1

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.

Much of it was lost to the audience, since reverberant amplification gave heroic heft to Blanchett’s voice at the cost of intelligibility.

From Los Angeles Times

"The production disassociates you with much of the feeling and heft of live performance."

From BBC

Its aim was to combine Mediobanca’s heft in investment banking and wealth management with its own strength in retail banking to create the country’s third-largest lender by assets.

From The Wall Street Journal

December’s spending data may not carry much heft with investors, given that monthly retail sales are still being reported on a lag.

From Barron's

Brown hoped that his old foe's political nous and experience as an EU trade commissioner would add much-needed heft to his government's handling of the global economic crisis.

From BBC