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.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dead lifts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dead lift

First recorded in 1545–55

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

Those six are a dead lift, power throw, pushups, plank, run and a combination sprint/drag/carry.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2022

At last, our old, never-failing friend, William, helped us out again, as he had often done at a dead lift.

From The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton by Defoe, Daniel