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[lift] /lɪft/

verb (used with object)
1.
to move or bring (something) upward from the ground or other support to a higher position; hoist.
2.
to raise or direct upward:
He lifted his arm in a gesture of farewell; to lift one’s head.
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
to hold up or display on high.
6.
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.
7.
to make audible or louder, as the voice or something voiced:
The congregation lifted their voices in song.
8.
to transfer from one setting to another:
For the protagonist of the new play, the author has lifted a character from an early novel.
9.
Informal. to plagiarize:
Whole passages had been lifted from another book.
10.
Informal. to steal:
His wallet was lifted on the crowded subway.
11.
(def 5).
12.
to remove (plants and tubers) from the ground, as after harvest or for transplanting.
13.
Horology. (of an escape wheel) to move (a pallet) by moving along the outer, oblique face.
14.
to pay off (a mortgage, promissory note, etc.).
15.
Golf. to pick up (the ball), as to move it from an unplayable lie.
16.
to perform a surgical face lifting on.
17.
Shipbuilding.

18.
to cease temporarily from directing (fire or bombardment) on an objective or area:
They lifted the fire when the infantry began to advance.
19.
Fox Hunting. to take (hounds) from the line of a fox to where it has just been seen.
verb (used without object)
20.
to go up; yield to upward pressure:
The box is too heavy to lift. The lid won’t lift.
21.
to pull or strain upward in the effort to raise something:
to lift at a heavy weight.
22.
to move upward or rise; rise and disperse, as clouds or fog.
23.
(of rain) to stop temporarily.
24.
to rise to view above the horizon when approached, as land seen from the sea.
noun
25.
the act of lifting, raising, or rising:
the lift of a hand.
26.
the distance that anything rises or is raised:
a lift of 20 feet between canal locks.
27.
a lifting or raising force:
A kite depends on the wind to act as its lift.
28.
the weight, load, or quantity lifted.
29.
an act or instance of helping to climb or mount:
He gave her a lift onto the wagon.
30.
a ride in a vehicle, especially one given to a pedestrian:
Can you give me a lift across town?
31.
a feeling of exaltation or uplift:
Their visit gave me quite a lift.
32.
assistance or aid:
The fund-raiser’s successful efforts proved a great lift for the organization.
33.
a device or apparatus for lifting:
a hydraulic lift.
34.
a movement in which a dancer, skater, etc., lifts up his partner.
35.
Skiing.

36.
British.

37.
Informal. a theft.
38.
a rise or elevation of ground.
39.
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.
40.
Nautical.

41.
one of the layers of leather forming the heel of a boot or shoe.
42.
a special arch support built or inserted into footwear.
43.
Mining. the slice or thickness of ore mined in one operation.
44.
Building Trades. the height of the quantity of concrete poured into a form at one time.
45.
Naval Architecture. any of the horizontal planks forming a type of half model (lift model) able to be removed and measured as a guide to laying out the water lines of the vessel at full scale.
46.
Typesetting. (def 23).
47.
Printing. the quantity of paper loaded into or removed from a press or other printing machine at one time.
48.
Horology.

49.
(defs 1–3).
/lɪft/
verb
1.
to rise or cause to rise upwards from the ground or another support to a higher place: to lift a sack
2.
to move or cause to move upwards: to lift one’s eyes
3.
(transitive) to take hold of in order to carry or remove: to lift something down from a shelf
4.
(transitive) to raise in status, spirituality, estimation, etc: his position lifted him from the common crowd
5.
(transitive) to revoke or rescind: to lift tax restrictions
6.
to make or become audible or louder: to lift one’s voice in song
7.
(transitive) to take (plants or underground crops) out of the ground for transplanting or harvesting
8.
(intransitive) to disappear by lifting or as if by lifting: the fog lifted
9.
to transport in a vehicle
10.
(transitive) (informal) to take unlawfully or dishonourably; steal
11.
(transitive) (informal) to make dishonest use of (another person’s idea, writing, etc); plagiarize
12.
(transitive) (slang) to arrest
13.
(transitive) to perform a face-lift on
14.
(transitive) (US & Canadian) to pay off (a mortgage, etc)
noun
15.
the act or an instance of lifting
16.
the power or force available or used for lifting
17.

18.
the distance or degree to which something is lifted
19.
a usually free ride as a passenger in a car or other vehicle
20.
a rise in the height of the ground
21.
a rise in morale or feeling of cheerfulness usually caused by some specific thing or event
22.
the force required to lift an object
23.
a layer of the heel of a shoe, etc, or a detachable pad inside the shoe to give the wearer added height
24.
aid; help
25.
(mining)

26.

27.
See airlift (sense 1)
/lɪft/
noun
1.
(Scot) the sky
v.

c.1200, from Old Norse lypta “to raise,” from Proto-Germanic *luftijan (cf. Middle Low German lüchten, Dutch lichten, German lüften “to lift;” Old English lyft “heaven, air,” see loft). The meaning “steal” (as in shop-lift) is first recorded 1520s. Related: Lifted; lifting.
n.

late 15c., “act of lifting,” from lift (v.). Meaning “act of helping” is 1630s; that of “cheering influence” is from 1861. Sense of “elevator” is from 1851; that of “upward force of an aircraft” is from 1902. Meaning “help given to a pedestrian by taking him into a vehicle” is from 1712.
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.

noun

verb

Related Terms

hitch a ride