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Synonyms

heave-ho

American  
[heev-hoh] / ˈhivˈhoʊ /

noun

Informal.

  1. an act of rejection, dismissal, or forcible ejection.

    The bartender gave the noisy drunk the old heave-ho.
heave-ho British  

  1. a sailors' cry, as when hoisting anchor

"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

noun

  1. informal dismissal, as from employment

"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

Etymology

Origin of heave-ho

Noun use of phrase heave ho, Middle English havehou, hevelow

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That was why the founders were very careful when they crafted the Constitution: The president is just one branch of government, is constrained by checks and balances, and can always be given the heave-ho.

From Slate • Feb. 16, 2026

When LSU gave him the heave-ho in October, the athletic director cited Coach Kelly’s failure to “lead us to multiple SEC and national championships.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

The four MPs who have been given the heave-ho were called in one at a time to see the Chief Whip Sir Alan Campbell just after Prime Minister's Question Time.

From BBC • Jul. 17, 2025

Cage doesn’t get a toe in the tide before he’s given the heave-ho by a pretentious group of quasi-spiritual surfers called the Bay Boys.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Then with a grand heave-ho we shoved the bed away from the wall.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.