heft

[ heft ]

/ hɛft /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heft ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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)

to test the weight of by lifting and balancing: He hefted the spear for a few moments, and then flung it at the foe.

to heave; hoist.

Content related to heft

The Meteoric Rise Of The Word “Influencer”The word influencer has been used in English since the mid-1600s, though of course back then it wasn’t a job title.

Words related to heft

goods, capacity, weight, haul, bundle, amount, consignment, shipment, payload, load, density, gravity, pressure, substance, burden, raise, rise, hoist, climb, boost

Words nearby heft

heerfordt's disease, heerlen, hefei, heffelfinger, hefner candle, heft, hefty, hegang, hegari, hegel, hegel, georg wilhelm friedrich

Origin of heft

1550–60; heave + -t, variant of -th¹

OTHER WORDS FROM heft

heft·er, nounun·heft·ed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for heft

Its heft may scare away some casual readers, but Rough Country is surprisingly accessible.
How Religion Turned Texas Red|William O’Connor|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a room off the living room, saddles lounge everywhere you look, finely tooled leather saddles, things of great weight and heft.
The Death of a Rodeo Cowboy|Peter Richmond|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Pic: 1930s paint samples help Morgan Fisher get at abstraction's heft.
Tinted Love|Blake Gopnik|October 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Despite its heft, The Hobbit opened last weekend to an impressive $84.8 million, a new December record.
Why Are 2012’s Holiday Movies So Damn Long?|Ramin Setoodeh|December 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The Daily Pic: In 1978, Daniel Joseph Martinez made shadows have heft.
Photography's Heavy Lifting|Blake Gopnik|October 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Step Hen told him dryly, which of course was a little thrust at the heft of the stout scout.
The Boy Scouts Along the Susquehanna|Herbert Carter
Addison scoffed at the scheme; but to show how well it was working, Halstead took us downstairs and had us "heft" the turkey.
A Busy Year at the Old Squire's|Charles Asbury Stephens
Considering the difference in our heft, I take it Ive got a birds appetite compared with you and Josh here—pound for pound.
Motor Boat Boys Down the Danube|Louis Arundel
She could heft a bar'l of flour as easy as I can flirt a flapjack.
Roughing It|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
A little after Osberne turns to John and sees his knife lying on the board, a goodly one, well carven on the heft.
The Sundering Flood|William Morris

British Dictionary definitions for heft

heft

/ (hɛft) /

verb (tr)

to assess the weight of (something) by lifting

to lift

noun

US weight

US the main part

Derived forms of heft

hefter, noun

Word Origin for heft

C19: probably from heave, by analogy with thieve, theft, cleave, cleft

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