loft
- a room, storage area, or the like within a sloping roof; attic; garret.
- a gallery or upper level in a church, hall, etc., designed for a special purpose: a choir loft.
- a hayloft.
- an upper story of a business building, warehouse, or factory, typically consisting of open, unpartitioned floor area.
- 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.
- Also called loft bed. a balcony or platform built over a living area and used especially for sleeping.
- Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. an attic.
- Golf.
- the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.
- the act of lofting.
- a lofting stroke.
- the resiliency of fabric or yarn, especially wool.
- the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.
- to hit or throw aloft: He lofted a fly ball into center field.
- Golf.
- to slant the face of (a club).
- to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.
- to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.
- to store in a loft.
- Shipbuilding. to form or describe (the lines of a hull) at full size, as in a mold loft; lay off.
- Archaic. to provide (a house, barn, etc.) with a loft.
- to hit or throw something aloft, especially a ball.
- to go high into the air when hit, as a ball.
Origin of loft
Examples from the Web for lofted
Historical Examples
The strength of long putts can generally be more accurately regulated with a lofted putter than with a straight-faced one.
The Soul of GolfPercy Adolphus Vaile
He lofted the head in his left hand, looking up at the still-open dead eyes.
ShamanRobert Shea
As a matter of fact it had been lofted high into the air and both I and the caddie had seen it with the most perfect distinctness.
Fifty Years of GolfHorace G. Hutchinson
He lofted to the ground with one quick heave, steadied on his swaying feet as the automatic flashed into his hand.
Slaves of MercuryNat Schachner
loft
- the space inside a roof
- a gallery, esp one for the choir in a church
- a room over a stable used to store hay
- an upper storey of a warehouse or factory, esp when converted into living space
- a raised house or coop in which pigeons are kept
- sport
- (in golf) the angle from the vertical made by the club face to give elevation to a ball
- elevation imparted to a ball
- a lofting stroke or shot
- sport to strike or kick (a ball) high in the air
- to store or place in a loft
- to lay out a full-scale working drawing of (the lines of a vessel's hull)
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for lofted
loft
n.
"an upper chamber," c.1300, from late Old English loft "the sky; the sphere of the air," from Old Norse lopt "air, sky," originally "upper story, loft, attic" (Scandinavian -pt- pronounced like -ft-), from Proto-Germanic *luftuz "air, sky" (cf. Old English lyft, Dutch lucht, Old High German luft, German Luft, Gothic luftus "air").
Sense development is from "loft, ceiling" to "sky, air." Buck suggests ultimate connection with Old High German louft "bark," louba "roof, attic," etc., with development from "bark" to "roof made of bark" to "ceiling," though this did not directly inform the meaning "air, sky." But Watkins says this is "probably a separate Germanic root." Meaning "gallery in a church" first attested c.1500.
loft
v.
"to hit a ball high in the air," 1856, originally in golf, from loft (n.). Related: Lofted; lofting. An earlier sense was "to put a loft on" (a building), 1560s; also "to store (goods) in a loft" (1510s).