Adjacent Words

Heft definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HEFT, n.
1. Heaving; effort.
He cracks his gorge, his sides.
With violent hefts. [Not used.]
2. Weight; ponderousness. [This use is common in popular language in America. And we sometimes hear it used as a verb, as, to heft, to lift for the purpose of feeling or judging of the weight.]
3. A handle; a haft. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the property of being large in mass [syn: heft, heftiness, massiveness, ponderousness, ponderosity] v
1: lift or elevate [syn: heave, heave up, heft, heft up]
2: test the weight of something by lifting it

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: from heave, after such pairs as weave : weft Date: 15th century 1. a. weight, heaviness b. importance, influence 2. archaic the greater part of something ; bulk II. transitive verb Date: circa 1661 1. to heave up ; hoist 2. to test the weight of by lifting <hefting the rod…to get the feel of it — Consumer Reports>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. lift (something heavy), esp. to judge its weight. --n. dial. or US weight, heaviness. Etymology: prob. f. HEAVE after cleft, weft

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heft Heft, n.; G. pl. Hefte. [G.] A number of sheets of paper fastened together, as for a notebook; also, a part of a serial publication. The size of ``hefts'' will depend on the material requiring attention, and the annual volume is to cost about 15 marks. --The Nation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heft Heft, n. Same as Haft, n. [Obs.] --Waller.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heft Heft, n. [From Heave: cf. hefe weight. Cf. Haft.] 1. The act or effort of heaving? violent strain or exertion. [Obs.] He craks his gorge, his sides, With violent hefts. --Shak. 2. Weight; ponderousness. [Colloq.] A man of his age and heft. --T. Hughes. 3. The greater part or bulk of anything; as, the heft of the crop was spoiled. [Colloq. U. S.] --J. Pickering.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heft Heft, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hefted (Heft, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Hefting.] 1. To heave up; to raise aloft. Inflamed with wrath, his raging blade he heft. --Spenser. 2. To prove or try the weight of by raising. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heft Heft, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hefted (Heft, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Hefting.] 1. To heave up; to raise aloft. Inflamed with wrath, his raging blade he heft. --Spenser. 2. To prove or try the weight of by raising. [Colloq.]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Handle, haft, helve.

Moby Thesaurus

avoirdupois, balance, be heavy, beef, beefiness, boost, buoy up, carry weight, cast up, counterbalance, deadweight, elevate, erect, escalate, fatness, gravity, gross weight, have weight, heave, heaviness, heftiness, heighten, heist, hike, hoick, hoist, hold the scales, hold up, jerk up, knock up, levitate, lie heavy, lift, lift up, liveweight, lob, loft, neat weight, net, net weight, overbalance, overweight, perk up, ponderability, ponderosity, ponderousness, poundage, raise, raise up, rear, rear up, rise, set up, sky, stick up, strike a balance, throw up, tip the scales, tonnage, underweight, up, upbuoy, upcast, upheave, uphoist, uphold, uplift, upraise, uprear, upthrow, weigh, weigh heavy, weigh in, weigh out, weight, weightiness