Adjacent Words

Hoist definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HOIST, v.t. [originally hoise; but corrupted, perhaps beyond remedy.]
1. To raise; to lift.
We'll quickly hoist duke Humphrey from his seat.
In popular language, it is a word of general application. But the word has two appropriate uses, one by seamen, and the other by milkmaids, viz.
2. To raise, to lift or bear upwards by means of tackle; and to draw up or raise, as a sail along the masts or stays, or as a flag, though by a single block only. Hoist the main-sail. Hoist the flag.
3. To lift and move the leg backwards; a word of command used by milkmaids to cows, when they wish them to lift and set back the right leg.
HOIST, n. In marine language, the perpendicular highth of a flag or ensign, as opposed to the fly, or breadth from the staff to the outer edge.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: lifting device for raising heavy or cumbersome objects v
1: raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; "hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car" [syn: hoist, lift, wind]
2: move from one place to another by lifting; "They hoisted the patient onto the operating table"
3: raise; "hoist the flags"; "hoist a sail" [syn: hoist, run up]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: alteration of hoise Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. lift, raise; especially to raise into position by or as if by means of tackle 2. drink 1 <hoist a few beers> intransitive verb to become hoisted ; rise Synonyms: see lift • hoister noun II. noun Date: 1654 1. an act of hoisting ; lift 2. an apparatus for hoisting 3. the height of a flag when viewed flying

U.S. Military Dictionary

(*) In helicopters, the mechanism by which external loads may be raised or lowered vertically.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 raise or haul up. 2 raise by means of ropes and pulleys etc. --n. 1 an act of hoisting, a lift. 2 an apparatus for hoisting. 3 a the part of a flag nearest the staff. b a group of flags raised as a signal. Phrases and idioms: hoist the flag stake one's claim to discovered territory by displaying a flag. hoist one's flag signify that one takes command. hoist with one's own petard see PETARD. Derivatives: hoister n. Etymology: 16th c.: alt. of hoise f. (15th-c.) hysse, prob. of LG orig.: cf. LG hissen

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hoist Hoist, p. p. Hoisted. [Obs.] 'T is the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petar. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hoist Hoist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hoisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Hoisting.] [OE. hoise, hyse, OD. hyssen, D. hijshen; akin to LG. hissen, Dan. hisse, Sw. hissa.] To raise; to lift; to elevate; esp., to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle, as a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight. They land my goods, and hoist my flying sails. --Pope. Hoisting him into his father's throne. --South. Hoisting engine, a steam engine for operating a hoist.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hoist Hoist, n. 1. That by which anything is hoisted; the apparatus for lifting goods. 2. The act of hoisting; a lift. [Collog.] 3. (Naut.) (a) The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length when flying from a staff. (b) The height of a fore-and-aft sail next the mast or stay. --Totten. Hoist bridge, a drawbridge that is lifted instead of being swung or drawn aside.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(hoists, hoisting, hoisted) 1. If you hoist something heavy somewhere, you lift it or pull it up there. Hoisting my suitcase on to my shoulder, I turned and headed toward my hotel... Grabbing the side of the bunk, he hoisted himself to a sitting position. VERB: V n prep/adv, V pron-refl prep/adv 2. If something heavy is hoisted somewhere, it is lifted there using a machine such as a crane. A twenty-foot steel pyramid is to be hoisted into position on top of the tower... Then a crane hoisted him on to the platform. VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, V n prep/adv 3. A hoist is a machine for lifting heavy things. N-COUNT 4. If you hoist a flag or a sail, you pull it up to its correct position by using ropes. A group of youths hoisted their flag on top of the disputed monument. VERB: V n 5. hoist with your own petard: see petard

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Raise, lift, elevate, heave, raise up. II. n. Lift, heave.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To go upon the hoist; to get into windows accidentally left open: this is done by the assistance of a confederate, called the hoist, who leans his head against the wall, making his back a kind of step or ascent.

Moby Thesaurus

a leg up, boost, buoy up, cast up, crab, crane, davit, derrick, elevate, elevator, erect, erector, escalate, forklift, gantry crane, heave, heft, heighten, heist, hike, hoick, hold up, hydraulic tailgate, jack, jackscrew, jerk up, knock up, lever, levitate, lift, lift up, lifter, lob, loft, perk up, pick up, raise, raise up, rear, rear up, rise, set up, sky, stick up, tackle, take up, throw up, up, upbuoy, upcast, upheave, uphoist, uphold, uplift, upraise, uprear, upthrow, winch, windlass