heave

[ heev ]

/ hiv /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heave ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), heaved or (especially Nautical) hove; heav·ing.

to raise or lift with effort or force; hoist: to heave a heavy ax.

to throw, especially to lift and throw with effort, force, or violence: to heave an anchor overboard; to heave a stone through a window.

Nautical.

to move into a certain position or situation: to heave a vessel aback.
to move in a certain direction: Heave the capstan around! Heave up the anchor!

to utter laboriously or painfully: to heave a sigh.

to cause to rise and fall with or as with a swelling motion: to heave one's chest.

to vomit; throw up: He heaved his breakfast before noon.

to haul or pull on (a rope, cable, line, etc.), as with the hands or a capstan: Heave the anchor cable!

verb (used without object), heaved or (especially Nautical) hove; heav·ing.

to rise and fall in rhythmically alternate movements: The ship heaved and rolled in the swelling sea.

to breathe with effort; pant: He sat there heaving and puffing from the effort.

to vomit; retch.

to rise as if thrust up, as a hill; swell or bulge: The ground heaved and small fissures appeared for miles around.

to pull or haul on a rope, cable, etc.

to push, as on a capstan bar.

Nautical.

to move in a certain direction or into a certain position or situation: heave about; heave alongside; heave in stays.
(of a vessel) to rise and fall, as with a heavy beam sea.

noun

an act or effort of heaving.

a throw, toss, or cast.

Geology. the horizontal component of the apparent displacement resulting from a fault, measured in a vertical plane perpendicular to the strike.

the rise and fall of the waves or swell of a sea.

heaves, (used with a singular verb) Also called broken wind. Veterinary Pathology. a disease of horses, similar to asthma in human beings, characterized by difficult breathing.

Verb Phrases

heave down, Nautical. to careen (a vessel).

heave out, Nautical.

to shake loose (a reef taken in a sail).
to loosen (a sail) from its gaskets in order to set it.

heave to,

Nautical. to stop the headway of (a vessel), especially by bringing the head to the wind and trimming the sails so that they act against one another.
to come to a halt.

Nearby words

Idioms

heave ho (an exclamation used by sailors, as when heaving the anchor up.)

heave in sight, to rise to view, as from below the horizon: The ship hove in sight as dawn began to break.

heave the lead. lead²(def 16).

Origin of heave

before 900; Middle English heven, variant (with -v- from simple past tense and past participle) of hebben, Old English hebban; cognate with German heben, Old Norse hefja, Gothic hafjan; akin to Latin capere to take

SYNONYMS FOR heave

1. elevate. See raise. 2. hurl, pitch, fling, cast, sling. 11. surge, billow.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heave ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsheav·er, nounheave·less, adjectiveun·heaved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heave

But Lomax can heave a small sigh of relief, at least for now: Legislative reform to the 1033 program will not happen in 2014.
SWAT Lobby Shoots to Kill Police Reform After Ferguson|Tim Mak|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Chinook vibrated with deeper and deeper groans until its twin engines managed to heave up our dead weight.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We get in line, and on the count of three, we heave a log onto our shoulders.
Exercising Like a Caveman: A.J. Jacobs Gets Primal|A.J. Jacobs|April 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The men have to put their shoulders under the gunwale, and heave and strain with all their might.
Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier|James Inglis

The launch and cutter being instantly hoisted out, the usual preparations were made to lay out a kedge, to heave the ship off.
The Lieutenant and Commander|Basil Hall
Heave again, and, when you are a-weigh, put the helm to port and hoist the jib.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana
The organ was pealing softly and plaintively, and the little gray coat seemed to heave as with a sob.
A Reputed Changeling|Charlotte M. Yonge
The tide was rising, anchors were carried out, and desperate efforts were made to heave the vessel off.
The African Trader|W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for heave

heave

/ (hiːv) /

verb heaves, heaving or heaved or mainly nautical hove

(tr) to lift or move with a great effort

(tr) to throw (something heavy) with effort

to utter (sounds, sighs, etc) or breathe noisily or unhappilyto heave a sigh

to rise and fall or cause to rise and fall heavily

(past tense and past participle hove) nautical

to move or cause to move in a specified way, direction, or positionto heave in sight
(intr) (of a vessel) to pitch or roll

(tr) to displace (rock strata, mineral veins, etc) in a horizontal direction

(intr) to retch

noun

the act or an instance of heaving

a fling

the horizontal displacement of rock strata at a fault

Word Origin for heave

Old English hebban; related to Old Norse hefja, Old Saxon hebbian, Old High German heffen to raise, Latin capere to take, Sanskrit kapatī two hands full

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 heave

heave

Old English hebban "to lift, raise; lift up, exalt" (class VI strong verb; past tense hof, past participle hafen), from Proto-Germanic *hafjan (cf. Old Norse hefja, Dutch heffen, German heben, Gothic hafjan "to lift, raise"), from PIE *kap-yo-, from root *kap- "to grasp" (see capable).

Related to Old English habban "to hold, possess." Intransitive use by c.1200. Meaning "to throw" is from 1590s. Sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is first attested c.1600. Related: Heaved; heaving. Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting (c.1300, hevelow).

heave

1570s, from heave (v.).

heave

verb (used with object), heaved or (especially Nautical) hove; heav·ing.

verb (used without object), heaved or (especially Nautical) hove; heav·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of heave

Examples from the Web for heave

heave

verb heaves, heaving or heaved or mainly nautical hove

noun

Word Origin for heave

heave

heave