heist
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to take unlawfully, especially in a robbery or holdup; steal.
to heist a million dollars' worth of jewels.
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to rob or hold up.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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heistsimple
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heistssimple
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have heistedperfect
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has heistedperfect
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am heistingprogressive
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are heistingprogressive
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is heistingprogressive
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have been heistingperfect progressive
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has been heistingperfect progressive
Past
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heistedsimple
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had heistedperfect
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was heistingprogressive
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were heistingprogressive
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had been heistingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of heist
1925–30, alteration of hoist
Explanation
When a man with a gun walks into a bank and says, "Give me all your money," that's a heist or a robbery at gunpoint. Heist, pronounced "hīst," is a slang word for an armed robbery. It's also a slang word used to describe the act of stealing or breaking into someone's house to steal their stuff. In other words, it's a burglary. Heist can also act as a verb: "If you've heisted a diamond ring, you've stolen it."
Vocabulary lists containing heist
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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.
No Ordinary Heist is directed and co-written by Colin McIvor.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
Appeared in the November 26, 2025, print edition as 'Taking a Loupe To the Louvre Heist'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
Ratner has no glaring ties to Trump, however, the director used Trump International Hotel & Tower as the primary location for his thriller "Tower Heist" in 2011.
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2025
It has “all the markings of a really well-thought-out job” performed by a “professional crew,” according to Scott Andrew Selby, co-author of “Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2024
As Will made his daring plunge Josh Heist on rushed to the side, and stood with starting eyes gazing at the disturbed water.
From Menhardoc by Staniland, C.J.
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.
