aloft

[uh-lawft, uh-loft]

See more synonyms for aloft on Thesaurus.com

adverb

high up; far above the ground.
Nautical.
1. on the masts; in the rigging; overhead.
2. (on a square-rigged sailing ship) in the upper rigging, specifically, on or above the lower yards (opposed to alow).
in or into the air.

preposition

on or at the top of: flags flying aloft the castle.

Origin of aloft

1150–1200; Middle English o loft; < Old Norse ā lopt in the air; see a-¹, loft

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for aloft

above, over, overhead, up

Examples from the Web for aloft

Contemporary Examples of aloft

There was a sense of standing together on the precipice, but holding each other aloft by sheer will, conjoined by rage.
‘The Normal Heart’ and Hope in the Battlefield of AIDS
Michael Musto
May 24, 2014

Historical Examples of aloft

A good look-out was kept for men, from aloft, but none were seen from any of the vessels.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
Saying no word, out of his lair he came with that terrible sword of his aloft.
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard
The celebrant kissed the tablet, and held it aloft before all the people.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
No living thing would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew.
Beowulf
Anonymous
But from aloft Chris saw the trick and how the camouflage was worked.
Raiders Invisible
Desmond Winter Hall

British Dictionary definitions for aloft

aloft

adverb, adjective (postpositive)

in or into a high or higher place; up above
nautical in or into the rigging of a vessel

Word Origin for aloft

C12: from Old Norse ā lopt in the air; see lift 1, loft

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

Word Origin and History for aloft

adv.

c.1200, from a Scandinavian source; cf. Old Norse a lopti "up above," literally "up in the air," from a "in, on" + lopt "sky, air, atmosphere; loft, upper room" (cf. Gothic luftus, Old High German luft, Old English lyft "air;" see loft).