forklift

American  

[fawrk-lift] / ˈfɔrkˌlɪft /

noun

forklifts plural

1. Also called forklift truck,.  Also called fork truck.  a small vehicle with two power-operated prongs at the front that can be slid under heavy loads and then raised for moving and stacking materials in warehouses, shipping depots, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to move or stack by forklift.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• forklifts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of forklift

First recorded in 1940–45; fork + lift

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forklift forklifts

Costco staffers are compensated far above the retail industry average, and the company’s CEO, Ron Vachris, started on the warehouse floor as a forklift operator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Swansea Crown Court heard Thomas Ashford, 35, Stewart Jones, 56, and Richard Jones, 29, worked in security and forklift driver roles on the site.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Some of the employees still work there, including Jorge Cuervo, the production supervisor, and Fabian Diaz, who mans the forklift.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

Counterfeit and contaminated products could be crushed by a forklift or incinerated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Against the same wall as the office, but in the opposite corner of the barn, Margo has set up a kind of bed—four forklift pallets beneath an orange air mattress.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

The native Ohioan said she had so far only seen "a lot of forklifts unloading trucks. If I am online and I see...a commotion and a fanfare, I will probably come back."

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

But we have electric forklifts; we have electric hostlers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

He spent time in Iowa, Michigan, and most memorably, Alaska, where he operated cranes, forklifts, and anchored vessels as a dock worker at Pacific Star Seafoods.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025

They might have, say, six electric forklifts but a grid connection only large enough for charging ports to supply two or three of the forklifts.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025

Standing guard along either side were dozens of forklifts modified for war.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan