heft
Americannoun
-
weight; heaviness.
It was a rather flimsy chair, without much heft to it.
-
significance or importance.
-
Archaic. the bulk or main part.
verb (used with object)
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to test the weight of by lifting and balancing.
He hefted the spear for a few moments, and then flung it at the foe.
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to heave; hoist.
verb
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to assess the weight of (something) by lifting
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to lift
noun
-
weight
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the main part
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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heftsimple
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heftssimple
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have heftedperfect
-
has heftedperfect
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am heftingprogressive
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are heftingprogressive
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is heftingprogressive
-
have been heftingperfect progressive
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has been heftingperfect progressive
Past
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heftedsimple
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had heftedperfect
-
was heftingprogressive
-
were heftingprogressive
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had been heftingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of heft
Explanation
Heft is the bulk or weight of a person or thing. You might shift the heft of that huge bag of dog food you just bought over to your left arm while you use your right hand to open the door. The heft of your big suitcase might make you question the wisdom of packing so many books. You can use heft as a verb, too — you could move the books into your backpack and then heft it back onto your shoulder. Heft comes from the verb heave, "lift with effort," modeled on verb/noun combinations like "thieve" and "theft" or "weave" and "weft."
Vocabulary lists containing heft
"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 2 of the epic poem
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Prisoner B-3087
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Wolf Hollow
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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.
See Examples For:
It’s made of the joy-buzzer energy coming into your palms through the rack-and-pinion steering, the wheel gains heft and braille-like sensitivity as cornering loads and slip angles increase.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Not only does the stock market comprise a greater share of American wealth than ever before, but it has also reached new extremes in terms of heft relative to the broader economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Historically it has used its heft to wring the lowest prices out of suppliers, playing them off each other and leaving them little profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
When a term like “mother” is employed so generously, it loses all substantive heft.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
I grit my teeth, heft Hector the Neglected higher onto my hip, and walk into the middle of the road.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
This time, players are in the shoes of Gordon Freeman, who hefts his iconic crowbar as the game ends.
From The Verge ● Mar. 27, 2020
Or isn’t that what everyone experiences when Battulga Battogtokh, a strongman from Mongolia, hefts three women simultaneously?
From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2019
Your father hefts his pack onto his back and you smear zinc on your face, following him up the trail.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2018
“EVERYBODY thinks this is a 50-pound sack of seeds,” says Steven Fabijanski as he hefts a large white bag onto a table.
From Economist ● Mar. 1, 2018
He hefts the porcupine, propping it on his shoulder, expression thoughtful.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Calculations of its hefted flight angle, altitude and length of flight suggested it had the range to reach the continental U.S. if fired on a conventional trajectory.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 19, 2023
To demonstrate the magnitude of this Borgesian Library of Babel, Cruz reached beneath his desk and hefted up a tower of four little books.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2022
He details his love of Russia and its people, beginning with meeting champion weightlifter Yuri Petrovich Vlasov in 1961 when he was 14 and hadn’t yet hefted a barbell of note.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
Diaz, 30, said that her record-breaking 127 kilogram lift in the clean and jerk event was the first time she had successfully hefted that much weight.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2021
Joseph hefted his backpack up over his shoulder.
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
She prepares dinner, then hurries to an Amazon warehouse for a 6 1/2-hour shift sorting, scanning and hefting bulky items.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Other footage shows Scouts hefting umbrellas as they line up in the sun for facilities, and flooding convenience stores to buy ice and ice cream.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Taking a break from hefting bricks, Tica told The Associated Press that he had been working to loosen the earth with a metal rod when the ground suddenly began to collapse.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2022
“He’s a strong guy, and that’s good for all of us!” said butcher Karoly Ludanyi, hefting a string of glistening sausage links a stall in Budapest’s landmark central market hall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2022
Long after Dad had forgotten about the revelation in Isaiah, and Mother was again hefting plastic jugs of “Western Family 2%” into the fridge, I would remember the Weavers.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
