loft

American  

[lawft, loft] / lɔft, lɒft /

noun

• lofts
  plural

1. a room, storage area, or the like within a sloping roof; attic; garret.

2. a gallery or upper level in a church, hall, etc., designed for a special purpose.

   a choir loft.

3. a hayloft.

4. an upper story of a business building, warehouse, or factory, typically consisting of open, unpartitioned floor area.

5. such an upper story converted or adapted to any of various uses, as quarters for living, studios for artists or dancers, exhibition galleries, or theater space.

6. Also called loft bed.  a balcony or platform built over a living area and used especially for sleeping.

7. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. an attic.

8. Golf.

   1. the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.

   2. the act of lofting.

   3. a lofting stroke.

9. the resiliency of fabric or yarn, especially wool.

10. the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.

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verb (used with object)

• lofts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lofted,
  past participle,  past
• lofting
  present participle

1. to hit or throw aloft.

   He lofted a fly ball into center field.

2. Golf.

   1. to slant the face of (a club).

   2. to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.

   3. to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.

3. to store in a loft.

4. Shipbuilding. to form or describe (the lines of a hull) at full size, as in a mold loft; lay off.

5. Archaic. to provide (a house, barn, etc.) with a loft.

verb (used without object)

• lofts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lofted,
  past participle,  past
• lofting
  present participle

1. to hit or throw something aloft, especially a ball.

2. to go high into the air when hit, as a ball.

loft British  

/ lɒft /

noun

1. the space inside a roof

2. a gallery, esp one for the choir in a church

3. a room over a stable used to store hay

4. an upper storey of a warehouse or factory, esp when converted into living space

5. a raised house or coop in which pigeons are kept

6. sport

   1. (in golf) the angle from the vertical made by the club face to give elevation to a ball

   2. elevation imparted to a ball

   3. a lofting stroke or shot

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verb

1. sport to strike or kick (a ball) high in the air

2. to store or place in a loft

3. to lay out a full-scale working drawing of (the lines of a vessel's hull)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underloft
  noun
• loftless
  adjective
• well-lofted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lofts
  plural

Participles

• lofting
  present
• lofted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• loft
  simple
• lofts
  simple
• have lofted
  perfect
• has lofted
  perfect
• am lofting
  progressive
• are lofting
  progressive
• is lofting
  progressive
• have been lofting
  perfect progressive
• has been lofting
  perfect progressive

Past

• lofted
  simple
• had lofted
  perfect
• was lofting
  progressive
• were lofting
  progressive
• had been lofting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will loft
  simple
• will have lofted
  perfect
• will be lofting
  progressive
• will have been lofting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of loft

before 1000; Middle English lofte (noun), late Old English loft < Old Norse lopt upper chamber or region, the air, sky. See lift

Explanation

When you loft something, you throw it high into the air, the way a baseball player might loft a ball from the outfield all the way to first base. Any way you propel an object — whether you throw, kick, or slingshot it — if it launches up and across a distance, you loft it. Another kind of loft is the large, open space above a warehouse or shop in which people live or work. Artists are particularly well known for having apartments or studios in lofts. This is closest to the word's original meaning, "an upper chamber," from the Old English loft, which means "the sky."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

loft lofts lofted lofting

They picked up a 1,800-square-foot, two-bedroom loft in 2006 for $1.3 million.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

Two years ago, for a new production of “Das Rheingold,” the first “Ring” opera, Gehry had designed a semi-pit for the orchestra in Disney and an elevated stage on the organ loft.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

This comes at a moment when he and others are looking to loft AI-related IPOs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

A long-lost photo of a young David Bowie backstage at gig arranged by a group of Stockport teenagers has emerged after 56 years when one of the group was clearing out his loft.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

“No. The pigeon loft is a preferred spot for napping.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Rec centers were revamped with climbing walls and lazy rivers; dorms gave way to apartment lofts with expansive lounges; campus coffee bars were established with national brands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Pipes in lofts are also prone to problems so could benefit from having their own insulation "duvet" to stop thaw-related challenges.

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026

Following a COVID-induced hiatus, downtown’s renaissance, with banks converted into lofts and vibrant public spaces, is showing — once again — a new appetite for urban living.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

But fear not, Apex isn’t just hanging out in one of Griffin’s lofts, overseeing his nightly buffet of caviar and gold-leafed Pringles.

From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2024

As at his own wharf, one side was built up solidly with counting houses, warehouses, sail lofts, stores.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

He lofted Foulkes over long-off for six, then took another maximum from a sweep at Smith.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Rowbottom and Lindsey work side by side from adjoining desks in their lofted home office, a French bulldog named Jammy snoring between them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

That day isn’t here yet, and the company still hasn’t lofted any operational satellites into space with Starship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

“This meticulously restored Victorian delivers the ultimate Hamptons lifestyle: a luxuriously appointed main residence, a lofted studio, and resort-like grounds with a heated gunite pool.”

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026

From his top drawer he pulled two pairs of sweat socks rounded into uneven balls, stepped back toward the door, and lofted both pairs of socks toward the open bag.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Touted for years by Musk as the key to taking humans to Mars, SpaceX is now looking to show that Starship can work, including by lofting the company’s own satellites into orbit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Oviedo gave away a poor second goal after 57 minutes, with Raphinha running on to an undercooked back-pass from David Costas and lofting the ball over Oviedo goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

The foamy waves behind them form a cloudlike backdrop, with Medina lofting his right index finger high above his head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2024

Powerful monsoon winds, strengthened by a warming climate, are lofting unexpectedly large quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over East Asia, new research shows.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2024

Baffy.—A short wooden club, with laid-back face, for lofting shots.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various

Related Words

• apartment
• studio