heave
verb (used with object)
to throw, especially to lift and throw with effort, force, or violence.
were heaving
-
past progressiveof heave.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Shopping areas, including the market of Addisu Gebeya, were heaving in Addis Ababa on New Year's Eve, despite the rain - as people rushed to prepare for the celebrations.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Legs were starting to leaden and chests were heaving visibly.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2018
Released into the blood, they once were thought to hold cellular garbage, as if the cells were heaving out their trash.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2018
Bookshops were heaving with so many of these “clean” books that even the authors themselves started to feel that there were too many of them.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 11, 2017
Soon, more waves were heaving it up out of the water.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
