dead lift

American  

noun

1. a direct lifting without any mechanical assistance.

2. a situation that requires all one's strength or ingenuity.

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Etymology

Origin of dead lift

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

I have friends who choke down Greek yogurt by the bucketful, who eat handfuls of grilled chicken at a time, who dead lift their own body weight.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

There, she hoisted four 100- to 150-pound sandbags onto her shoulders after completing six reps of a 315-pound dead lift.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2024

I can squat 616 pounds, dead lift 550 and bench press a few reps of 405.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2023

“But then two months go by, and these women decide they want to climb a rope or dead lift their body weight.”

From New York Times • Jan. 3, 2022

Another little book, to which the Chinese pupil is early introduced, is the list of Chinese surnames, more than 400 in number, and all to be learned by a dead lift of memory.

From Village Life in China A Study in Sociology by Smith, Arthur H.