dead lift

American  

noun

• dead lifts
  plural

1. a direct lifting without any mechanical assistance.

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dead lifts
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dead lift

First recorded in 1545–55

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dead lift

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

A good hand at a dead lift; a good hand upon an emergency.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose

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