lift

[ lift ]

/ lɪft /

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See synonyms for: lift / lifted / lifting / liftable on Thesaurus.com

Definition of lift

verb (used with object)

to move or bring (something) upward from the ground or other support to a higher position; hoist.

to raise or direct upward: He lifted his arm in a gesture of farewell;to lift one's head.

to remove or rescind by an official act, as a ban, curfew, or tax: a court decision to lift the ban on strikes by teachers.

to stop or put an end to (a boycott, blockade, etc.): The citizenry will have to conserve food and water until the siege against the city is lifted.

to hold up or display on high.

to raise in rank, condition, estimation, etc.; elevate or exalt (sometimes used reflexively): His first book lifted him from obscurity.By hard work they lifted themselves from poverty.

to make audible or louder, as the voice or something voiced: The congregation lifted their voices in song.

to transfer from one setting to another: For the protagonist of the new play, the author has lifted a character from an early novel.

Informal. to plagiarize: Whole passages had been lifted from another book.

Informal. to steal: His wallet was lifted on the crowded subway.

airlift (def. 5).

to remove (plants and tubers) from the ground, as after harvest or for transplanting.

Horology. (of an escape wheel) to move (a pallet) by moving along the outer, oblique face.

to pay off (a mortgage, promissory note, etc.).

Golf. to pick up (the ball), as to move it from an unplayable lie.

to perform a surgical lift on.

Shipbuilding.

to transfer (measurements and the like) from a drawing, model, etc., to a piece being built.
to form (a template) according to a drawing, model, etc.

to cease temporarily from directing (fire or bombardment) on an objective or area: They lifted the fire when the infantry began to advance.

Fox Hunting. to take (hounds) from the line of a fox to where it has just been seen.

verb (used without object)

to go up; yield to upward pressure: The box is too heavy to lift.The lid won't lift.

to pull or strain upward in the effort to raise something: to lift at a heavy weight.

to move upward or rise; rise and disperse, as clouds or fog.

(of rain) to stop temporarily.

to rise to view above the horizon when approached, as land seen from the sea.

noun

the act of lifting, raising, or rising: the lift of a hand.

the distance that anything rises or is raised: a lift of 20 feet between canal locks.

a lifting or raising force: A kite depends on the wind to act as its lift.

the weight, load, or quantity lifted.

an act or instance of helping to climb or mount: He gave her a lift onto the wagon.

a ride in a vehicle, especially one given to a pedestrian: Can you give me a lift across town?

a feeling of exaltation or uplift: Their visit gave me quite a lift.

assistance or aid: The fund-raiser's successful efforts proved a great lift for the organization.

a device or apparatus for lifting: a hydraulic lift.

a movement in which a dancer, skater, etc., lifts up his partner.

a cosmetic surgery that lifts and tightens a specified part of the body and removes excess skin and fat:an arm lift;a breast lift;a buttocks lift.

Skiing.

ski lift.
chairlift.

British.

elevator (def. 2).
any device used to lift or elevate, as a dumbwaiter or hoist.

Informal. a theft.

a rise or elevation of ground.

Aeronautics. the component of the aerodynamic force exerted by the air on an airfoil, having a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion and causing an aircraft to stay aloft.

Nautical.

the capacity of a cargo ship measured in dead-weight tons.
topping lift.

one of the layers of leather forming the heel of a boot or shoe.

a special arch support built or inserted into footwear.

Mining. the slice or thickness of ore mined in one operation.

Building Trades. the height of the quantity of concrete poured into a form at one time.

Naval Architecture. any of the horizontal planks forming a type of half model (lift mod·el ), able to be removed and measured as a guide to laying out the water lines of the vessel at full scale.

Typesetting. fat (def. 23).

Printing. the quantity of paper loaded into or removed from a press or other printing machine at one time.

Horology.

the displacement of a pallet by an escape wheel that has been unlocked.
the angle through which the pallet passes when so displaced.

airlift (defs. 1-3).

OTHER WORDS FOR lift

1 elevate.

See synonyms for lift on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR lift

1 lower.

See antonyms for lift on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of lift

First recorded in 1250–1300; 1955–60 for def. 10; Middle English liften, from Old Norse lypta, derivative of lopt “air,” cognate with German lüften literally, “to take aloft”; see loft

synonym study for lift

1. See raise.

OTHER WORDS FROM lift

lift·a·ble, adjectivelift·er, nounun·der·lift, nounun·lift·a·ble, adjective

un·lift·ed, adjectiveun·lift·ing, adjective

Words nearby lift

lifework, life zone, Liffey, Lifford, LIFO, lift, lift a finger, lift a hand against, liftback, lift bolt, liftboy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lift in a sentence

There are many more, but these items are relatively simple and if businesses did them, they would see a near-term lift in visibility and conversions.
The average GMB profile has 73 reviews, 45 photos, 5 Posts and a star rating of 4.08|Greg Sterling|August 26, 2020|Search Engine Land
It offers 13 inches of vertical lift, 360 degrees of rotation and 75 degrees of tilt, which allow it to be flexible in a variety of workspace conditions including sit-and-stand desks and creative studios.
The best monitor arms for desk-mounting your display|PopSci Commerce Team|August 26, 2020|Popular-Science
Though electric forces alone are not enough to explain dust lift on Mars, the forces “are critical in the dust-lifting process and should be taken into account,” says Germán Martínez of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.
Readers ask about Mars dust storms, Fermi bubbles and more|Science News Staff|August 23, 2020|Science News
However, some brands are seeing revenue lift in large part due to added virtual events, including Teen Vogue and its Teen Vogue Prom franchise that took place this spring.
‘They’re here to stay’: Condé Nast’s virtual events upfront working to convince sponsors that new remote platforms have real value|Kayleigh Barber|August 19, 2020|Digiday

That generates lift — upward force that helps an object stay in the air.
Flying snakes wriggle their way through the air|Emily Conover|August 4, 2020|Science News For Students
For every nanosecond that I miraculously lift off the ground, I land with an inordinately loud thud.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Specifically, the pilots got themselves into a high altitude stall, where the wings lose the capacity to provide lift.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Kurds claimed at least 100 Islamic militants were killed in the two-day battle to lift the siege.
Iraqi Kurds Get Their Groove Back, End Siege of Mount Sinjar|Jamie Dettmer|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But only Congress has the ability to completely lift the trade embargo, which has been in place since 1962.
Cuba Is A Kleptocracy, Not Communist|Romina Ruiz-Goiriena|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And for those seeking a quick fix: Studies show that light therapy can spur a mood lift in just several days.
9 Ways to Cope With Seasonal Affective Disorder|DailyBurn|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hopes of a man that is void of understanding are vain and deceitful: and dreams lift up fools.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Though, as everybody well knew, the doctor had forbidden her to lift so much as a pin!
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
He rose upon it, it was under him, he felt its lift and irresistible momentum; almost it bore him up the steps.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
A girl was moved to pity by a picture of a lamb caught in a thicket, and tried to lift the branch that lay across the animal.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for lift (1 of 2)

lift¹

/ (lɪft) /

verb

to rise or cause to rise upwards from the ground or another support to a higher placeto lift a sack

to move or cause to move upwardsto lift one's eyes

(tr) to take hold of in order to carry or removeto lift something down from a shelf

(tr) to raise in status, spirituality, estimation, etchis position lifted him from the common crowd

(tr) to revoke or rescindto lift tax restrictions

to make or become audible or louderto lift one's voice in song

(tr) to take (plants or underground crops) out of the ground for transplanting or harvesting

(intr) to disappear by lifting or as if by liftingthe fog lifted

to transport in a vehicle

(tr) informal to take unlawfully or dishonourably; steal

(tr) informal to make dishonest use of (another person's idea, writing, etc); plagiarize

(tr) slang to arrest

(tr) to perform a face-lift on

(tr) US and Canadian to pay off (a mortgage, etc)

noun

the act or an instance of lifting

the power or force available or used for lifting

British a platform, compartment, or cage raised or lowered in a vertical shaft to transport persons or goods in a buildingUS and Canadian word: elevator
See chairlift, ski lift

the distance or degree to which something is lifted

a usually free ride as a passenger in a car or other vehicle

a rise in the height of the ground

a rise in morale or feeling of cheerfulness usually caused by some specific thing or event

the force required to lift an object

a layer of the heel of a shoe, etc, or a detachable pad inside the shoe to give the wearer added height

aid; help

mining

the thickness of ore extracted in one operation
a set of pumps used in a mine

the component of the aerodynamic forces acting on a wing, etc, at right angles to the airflow
the upward force exerted by the gas in a balloon, airship, etc

See airlift (def. 1)

Derived forms of lift

liftable, adjectivelifter, noun

Word Origin for lift

C13: from Scandinavian; related to Old Norse lypta, Old English lyft sky; compare loft

British Dictionary definitions for lift (2 of 2)

lift²

/ (lɪft) /

noun

Scot the sky

Word Origin for lift

Old English lyft

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

Scientific definitions for lift

lift

[ lĭft ]

An upward force acting on an object. Lift can be produced in many ways; for example, by creating a low-pressure area above an object, such an airplane wing or other airfoil that is moving through the air, or by lowering the overall density of an object relative to the air around it, as with a hot air balloon. Compare drag. See also airfoil buoyancy. See Note at aerodynamics.

lift

Definition of lift

OTHER WORDS FOR lift

OPPOSITES FOR lift

Origin of lift

synonym study for lift

OTHER WORDS FROM lift

Words nearby lift

Words related to lift

How to use lift in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lift (1 of 2)

Derived forms of lift

Word Origin for lift

British Dictionary definitions for lift (2 of 2)

Word Origin for lift

Scientific definitions for lift