Adjacent Words

Lift definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIFT, v.t. [We retain this sense in shoplifter. L. levo, elevo.]
1. To raise; to elevate; as, to lift the foot or the hand; to lift the head.
2. To raise; to elevate mentally.
To thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Psalms 25.
3. To raise in fortune.
The eye of the Lord lifted up his head from misery.
4. To raise in estimation, dignity or rank. His fortune has lifted him into notice, or into office.
The Roman virtues lift up mortal man.
5. To elate; to cause to swell, as with pride. Up is often used after lift, as a qualifying word; sometimes with effect or emphasis; very often, however, it is useless.
6. To bear; to support.
7. To steal, that is, to take and carry away. Hence we retain the use of shoplifter, although the verb in this sense is obsolete.
8. In Scripture, to crucify.
When ye have lifted up the Son of man. John 8.
1. To lift up the eyes, to look; to fix the eyes on.
Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld Jordan. Genesis 13.
2. To direct the desires to God in prayer. Psalms 121.
1. To lift up the head, to raise from a low condition; to exalt. Genesis 40.
2. To rejoice. Luke 21.
1. To lift up the hand, to swear, or to confirm by oath. Genesis 14.
2. To raise the hands in prayer. Psalms 28.
3. To rise in opposition to; to rebel; to assault.
1 Samuel 18.
4. To injure or oppress. Job 31.
5. To shake off sloth and engage in duty. Hebrews 41.
To lift up the face, to look to with confidence, cheerfulness and comfort. Job 22.
To lift up the face, to look to with confidence, cheerfulness and comfort. Job 22.
To lift up the heel against, to treat with insolence and contempt.
To lift up the horn, to behave arrogantly or scornfully. Psalms 75.
To lift up the feet, to come speedily to one's relief.
Psalms 74.
To lift up the voice, to cry aloud; to call out, either in grief or joy. Genesis 21. Isaiah 24.
LIFT, v.i.
1. To try to raise; to exert the strength for the purpose of raising or bearing.
The body strained by lifting at a weight too heavy -
2. To practice theft. Obs.
LIFT, n.
1. The act of raising; a lifting; as the lift of the feet in walking or running.
The goat gives the fox a lift.
2. An effort to raise; as, give us a lift. [Popular use.]
3. That which is to be raised.
4. A dead lift, an ineffectual effort to raise; or the thing which the strength is not sufficient to raise.
5. Any thing to be done which exceeds the strength; or a state of inability; as, to help one at a dead lift.
6. A rise; a degree of elevation; as the lift of a lock in canals.
7. In Scottish, the sky; the atmosphere; the firmament.
8. In seamen's language, a rope descending from the cap and mast-head to the extremity of a yard. Its use is to support the yard, keep it in equilibrio, and raise the end, when occasion requires.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of giving temporary assistance
2: the component of the aerodynamic forces acting on an airfoil that opposes gravity [syn: aerodynamic lift, lift]
3: the event of something being raised upward; "an elevation of the temperature in the afternoon"; "a raising of the land resulting from volcanic activity" [syn: elevation, lift, raising]
4: a wave that lifts the surface of the water or ground [syn: lift, rise]
5: a powered conveyance that carries skiers up a hill [syn: ski tow, ski lift, lift]
6: a device worn in a shoe or boot to make the wearer look taller or to correct a shortened leg
7: one of the layers forming the heel of a shoe or boot
8: lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building [syn: elevator, lift]
9: plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face; an incision is made near the hair line and skin is pulled back and excess tissue is excised; "some actresses have more than one face lift" [syn: face lift, facelift, lift, face lifting, cosmetic surgery, rhytidectomy, rhytidoplasty, nip and tuck]
10: transportation of people or goods by air (especially when other means of access are unavailable) [syn: airlift, lift]
11: a ride in a car; "he gave me a lift home"
12: the act of raising something; "he responded with a lift of his eyebrow"; "fireman learn several different raises for getting ladders up" [syn: lift, raise, heave] v
1: raise from a lower to a higher position; "Raise your hands"; "Lift a load" [syn: raise, lift, elevate, get up, bring up] [ant: bring down, get down, let down, lower, take down]
2: take hold of something and move it to a different location; "lift the box onto the table"
3: move upwards; "lift one's eyes" [syn: lift, raise]
4: move upward; "The fog lifted"; "The smoke arose from the forest fire"; "The mist uprose from the meadows" [syn: rise, lift, arise, move up, go up, come up, uprise] [ant: come down, descend, fall, go down]
5: make audible; "He lifted a war whoop"
6: cancel officially; "He revoked the ban on smoking"; "lift an embargo"; "vacate a death sentence" [syn: revoke, annul, lift, countermand, reverse, repeal, overturn, rescind, vacate]
7: make off with belongings of others [syn: pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift]
8: raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; "hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car" [syn: hoist, lift, wind]
9: invigorate or heighten; "lift my spirits"; "lift his ego" [syn: raise, lift]
10: raise in rank or condition; "The new law lifted many people from poverty" [syn: lift, raise, elevate]
11: take off or away by decreasing; "lift the pressure"
12: rise up; "The building rose before them" [syn: rise, lift, rear]
13: pay off (a mortgage)
14: take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property [syn: plagiarize, plagiarise, lift]
15: take illegally; "rustle cattle" [syn: rustle, lift]
16: fly people or goods to or from places not accessible by other means; "Food is airlifted into Bosnia" [syn: airlift, lift]
17: take (root crops) out of the ground; "lift potatoes"
18: call to stop the hunt or to retire, as of hunting dogs
19: rise upward, as from pressure or moisture; "The floor is lifting slowly"
20: put an end to; "lift a ban"; "raise a siege" [syn: lift, raise]
21: remove (hair) by scalping
22: remove from a seedbed or from a nursery; "lift the tulip bulbs"
23: remove from a surface; "the detective carefully lifted some fingerprints from the table"
24: perform cosmetic surgery on someone's face [syn: face- lift, lift]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lyft Date: before 12th century chiefly Scottish heavens, sky II. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse lypta; akin to Old English lyft air — more at loft Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to raise from a lower to a higher position ; elevate b. to raise in rank or condition c. to raise in rate or amount 2. to put an end to (a blockade or siege) by withdrawing or causing the withdrawal of investing forces 3. revoke, rescind <lift an embargo> 4. a. steal <had her purse lifted> b. plagiarize c. to take out of normal setting <lift a word out of context> 5. to take up (as a root crop or transplants) from the ground 6. to pay off (an obligation) <lift a mortgage> 7. to move from one place to another (as by aircraft) ; transport 8. to take up (a fingerprint) from a surface intransitive verb 1. a. ascend, rise <the rocket lifted off> b. to appear elevated (as above surrounding objects) 2. of inclement weather to dissipate and clear • liftable adjective • lifter noun Synonyms: lift, raise, rear, elevate, hoist, heave, boost mean to move from a lower to a higher place or position. lift usually implies exerting effort to overcome resistance of weight <lift the chair while I vacuum>. raise carries a stronger implication of bringing up to the vertical or to a high position <scouts raising a flagpole>. rear may add an element of suddenness to raise <suddenly reared itself up on its hind legs>. elevate may replace lift or raise especially when exalting or enhancing is implied <elevated the taste of the public>. hoist implies lifting something heavy especially by mechanical means <hoisted the cargo on board>. heave implies lifting and throwing with great effort or strain <heaved the heavy crate inside>. boost suggests assisting to climb or advance by a push <boosted his brother over the fence>. III. noun Date: 14th century 1. the amount that may be lifted at one time ; load 2. a. the action or an instance of lifting b. the action or an instance of rising c. elevated carriage (as of a body part) d. the lifting up (as of a dancer) usually by a partner 3. a device (as a handle or latch) for lifting 4. an act of stealing ; theft 5. a. assistance, help b. a ride especially along one's way 6. a layer in the heel of a shoe 7. a rise or advance in position or condition 8. a slight rise or elevation 9. the distance or extent to which something rises 10. an apparatus or machine used for hoisting: as a. a set of pumps used in a mine b. chiefly British elevator 1b c. an apparatus for raising an automobile (as for repair) d. ski lift 11. a. an elevating influence b. an elevation of the spirit 12. a. the component of the total aerodynamic force acting on an airplane or airfoil that is perpendicular to the relative wind and that for an airplane constitutes the upward force that opposes the pull of gravity b. an updraft that can be used to increase altitude (as of a sailplane) 13. an organized movement of people, equipment, or supplies by some form of transportation; especially airlift

Britannica Concise

Upward-acting force on an aircraft wing or airfoil. An aircraft in flight experiences an upward lift force, as well as the thrust of the engine, the force of its own weight, and a drag force. The lift force arises because the speed at which the displaced air moves over the top of the airfoil (and over the top of the attached boundary layer) is greater than the speed at which it moves over the bottom and because the pressure acting on the airfoil from below is therefore greater than the pressure from above.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. (often foll. by up, off, out, etc.) raise or remove to a higher position. 2 intr. go up; be raised; yield to an upward force (the window will not lift). 3 tr. give an upward direction to (the eyes or face). 4 tr. a elevate to a higher plane of thought or feeling (the news lifted their spirits). b make less heavy or dull; add interest to (something esp. artistic). c enhance, improve (lifted their game after half-time). 5 intr. (of a cloud, fog, etc.) rise, disperse. 6 tr. remove (a barrier or restriction). 7 tr. transport supplies, troops, etc. by air. 8 tr. colloq. a steal. b plagiarize (a passage of writing etc.). 9 Phonet. a tr. make louder; raise the pitch of. b intr. (of the voice) rise. 10 tr. dig up (esp. potatoes etc. at harvest). 11 intr. (of a floor) swell upwards, bulge. 12 tr. hold or have on high (the church lifts its spire). 13 tr. hit (a cricket-ball) into the air. 14 tr. (usu. in passive) perform cosmetic surgery on (esp. the face or breasts) to reduce sagging. --n. 1 the act of lifting or process of being lifted. 2 a free ride in another person's vehicle (gave them a lift). 3 a Brit. a platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering persons or things to different floors of a building or different levels of a mine etc. b a similar apparatus for carrying persons up or down a mountain etc. (see ski-lift). 4 a transport by air (see AIRLIFT n.). b a quantity of goods transported by air. 5 the upward pressure which air exerts on an aerofoil to counteract the force of gravity. 6 a supporting or elevating influence; a feeling of elation. 7 a layer of leather in the heel of a boot or shoe, esp. to correct shortening of a leg or increase height. 8 a a rise in the level of the ground. b the extent to which water rises in a canal lock. Phrases and idioms: lift down pick up and bring to a lower position. lift a finger (or hand etc.) (in neg.) make the slightest effort (didn't lift a finger to help). lift off (of a spacecraft or rocket) rise from the launching pad. lift-off n. the vertical take-off of a spacecraft or rocket. lift up one's head hold one's head high with pride. lift up one's voice sing out. Derivatives: liftable adj. lifter n. Etymology: ME f. ON lypta f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lift Lift, n. 1. Act of lifting; also, that which is lifted. 2. The space or distance through which anything is lifted; as, a long lift. --Bacon. 3. Help; assistance, as by lifting; as, to give one a lift in a wagon. [Colloq.] The goat gives the fox a lift. --L'Estrange.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lift Lift (l[i^]ft), n. [AS. lyft air. See Loft.] The sky; the atmosphere; the firmament. [Obs. or Scot.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lift Lift (l[i^]ft), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lifted; p. pr. & vb. n. Lifting.] [Icel. lypta, fr. lopt air; akin to Sw. lyfta to lift, Dan. l["o]fte, G. l["u]ften; -- prop., to raise into the air. See Loft, and cf. 1st Lift.] 1. To move in a direction opposite to that of gravitation; to raise; to elevate; to bring up from a lower place to a higher; to upheave; sometimes implying a continued support or holding in the higher place; -- said of material things; as, to lift the foot or the hand; to lift a chair or a burden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lift Lift (l[i^]ft), v. i. 1. To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing. Strained by lifting at a weight too heavy. --Locke. 2. To rise; to become or appear raised or elevated; as, the fog lifts; the land lifts to a ship approaching it. 3. [See Lift, v. t., 5.] To live by theft. --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lifts, lifting, lifted) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you lift something, you move it to another position, especially upwards. The Colonel lifted the phone and dialed his superior... She lifted the last of her drink to her lips. VERB: V n, V n prep/adv • Lift up means the same as lift. She put her arms around him and lifted him up... Curious shoppers lifted up their children to take a closer look at the parade. PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron) 2. If you lift a part of your body, you move it to a higher position. Amy lifted her arm to wave. 'Goodbye,' she called... She lifted her foot and squashed the wasp into the ground. = raise VERB: V n, V n • Lift up means the same as lift. Tom took his seat again and lifted his feet up on to the railing... The boys lifted up their legs, indicating they wanted to climb in. PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron) 3. If you lift your eyes or your head, you look up, for example when you have been reading and someone comes into the room. When he finished he lifted his eyes and looked out the window. = raise VERB: V n 4. If people in authority lift a law or rule that prevents people from doing something, they end it. The European Commission has urged France to lift its ban on imports of British beef. VERB: V n 5. If something lifts your spirits or your mood, or if they lift, you start feeling more cheerful. He used his incredible sense of humour to lift my spirits... As soon as she heard the telephone ring her spirits lifted. VERB: V n, V 6. If something gives you a lift, it gives you a feeling of greater confidence, energy, or enthusiasm. (INFORMAL) My selection for the team has given me a tremendous lift. = boost N-SING: usu a N 7. A lift is a device that carries people or goods up and down inside tall buildings. (BRIT; in AM, use elevator) They took the lift to the fourth floor. N-COUNT 8. If you give someone a lift somewhere, you take them there in your car as a favour to them. He had a car and often gave me a lift home. = ride N-COUNT 9. If a government or organization lifts people or goods in or out of an area, it transports them there by aircraft, especially when there is a war. The army lifted people off rooftops where they had climbed to escape the flooding... = fly VERB: V n prep/adv 10. To lift something means to increase its amount or to increase the level or the rate at which it happens. The bank lifted its basic home loans rate to 10.99% from 10.75%... A barrage would halt the flow upstream and lift the water level. = increase VERB: V n to/from/by amount, V n 11. If fog, cloud, or mist lifts, it reduces, for example by moving upwards or by becoming less thick. The fog had lifted and revealed a warm, sunny day. VERB: V 12. to lift a finger: see finger

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

To make lofty, to raise up. A very common word in English Versions of the Bible representing a great variety of Hebrew and Greek words, although in the Old Testament used chiefly as the translation of nasa'. Of none of these words, however, is "lift" used as a technical translation, and "lift" is interchanged freely with its synonyms, especially "exalt" (compare Ps 75:5; 89:24) and "raise" (compare Ec 4:10; 2Sa 12:17). "Lift" is still perfectly good English, but not in all the senses in which it is used in English Versions of the Bible; e.g. such phrases as "men that lifted up axes upon a thicket" (Ps 74:5), "lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins" (Ps 74:3, etc.), and even the common "lift up the eyes" or "hands" are distinctly archaic. However, almost all the uses are perfectly clear, and only the following need be noted. "To lift up the head" (Ge 40:13,19,20; 2Ki 25:27; Ps 3:3; Sirach 11:13; Lu 21:28) means to raise from a low condition (but on Ps 24:7,9 see GATE). To "lift up the horn" (Ps 75:5) is to assume a confident position, the figure being taken from fighting oxen (see HORN). "Lift up the face" may be meant literally (2Ki 9:32), or it may denote the bestowal of favor (Ps 4:6); it may mean the attitude of a righteous man toward God (Job 22:26), or simply the attitude of a suppliant (Ezr 9:6).

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Raise, elevate, lift up. II. n. 1. Lifting, raising. 2. (Colloq.) Aid, assistance, help. 3. Rise (as of a lock in canals), degree of elevation. 4. Elevator.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To give one a lift; to assist. A good hand at a dead lift; a good hand upon an emergency. To lift one's hand to one's head; to drink to excess, or to drink drams. To lift or raise one's elbow; the same.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

See SHOPLIFTER, etc.

Moby Thesaurus

Caelus, Great Leap Forward, Olympian heights, Sunday drive, a leg up, abstract, acculturate, acme, advance, advancement, aerial heights, aerosphere, aggrandize, aid, air, airing, ameliorate, amelioration, amend, amendment, amortize, and, annex, annul, apex, appropriate, arise, ascend, ascent, aspire, assist, assistance, atmosphere, azure, bag, bang, be poised, bear, better, bettering, betterment, billow, biosphere, blue sky, boost, boot, bore, borrow, break, breakers, bring forward, buoy up, burglary, caelum, cancel, canopy, canopy of heaven, caper, carry, cast up, cerulean, charge, chop, choppiness, chopping sea, civilize, clear, comb, comber, comfort, conduct, confiscate, convey, cop, cope, copy, crab, crane, crash, crib, dash, defraud, deify, derrick, dignify, dirty water, disappear, discharge, discontinue, dismantle, dissipate, dizzy heights, drive, dumbwaiter, eagre, ebb and flow, ecosphere, edify, educate, elate, elevate, elevation, elevator, embezzle, emend, eminence, empyrean, encouragement, end, enhance, enhancement, enlighten, ennoble, enrich, enrichment, enshrine, erect, erector, escalate, escalator, ether, eugenics, euthenics, exalt, extort, fatten, favor, filch, firmament, flush, fly, forklift, forward, foster, freight, furtherance, gantry crane, gaseous envelope, go straight, grab, gravity wave, ground swell, hand, headway, heave, heaven, heavens, heavy sea, heavy swell, heft, height, heighten, heights, heist, helping hand, hike, hoick, hoist, hold up, honor, hook, hyaline, hydraulic tailgate, immortalize, improve, improve upon, improvement, inducement, inspiration, jack, jackscrew, jerk up, job, jollies, joyride, kick, knock up, larceny, lard, leg, leg up, lever, levitate, liberate, lift up, lifter, lifts, liquidate, lob, loft, lop, lug, magnify, make accounts square, make an improvement, make off with, manhandle, meliorate, melioration, mend, mending, mount, moving staircase, nick, nip, noosphere, nurture, pack, palm, pay in full, pay off, pay the bill, pay the shot, pay up, peak, perk up, pick up, pickup, pilfer, pinch, plagiarize, poach, pocket, popple, preferment, progress, progression, promote, promotion, purloin, purloining, quiver, raise, raise up, rear, rear up, reassurance, recall, recovery, redeem, refine upon, reform, relief, repeal, rescind, restoration, retire, reverse, revival, ride, riffle, rip-off, ripple, rise, rise and fall, rising ground, robbery, rocket, roll, roller, rough water, run away with, rush, rush of emotion, rustle, satisfy, scend, scrounge, sea, send, sensation, set up, settle, shiver, shoplift, shudder, sky, smash, snare, snatch, snitch, soar, socialize, spin, square, square accounts, starry heaven, steal, stealage, stealing, steep, stick up, stimulus, stop, straighten out, stratosphere, strike a balance, succor, support, surf, surge, surge of emotion, swell, swindle, swipe, tackle, take, take away, take up, terminate, the blue, the blue serene, theft, thieve, thievery, thieving, thrill, throw up, tidal bore, tidal wave, tide wave, tingle, tingling, titillation, toss, tote, touch, tower, transfigure, transform, transport, tremor, tremor of excitement, trough, tsunami, undulate, undulation, up, upbeat, upbuoy, upcast, upgrade, upheave, uphoist, uphold, uplift, upping, upraise, uprear, uprise, upswing, upthrow, uptrend, upward mobility, vanish, vantage ground, vantage point, vault, vault of heaven, void, waft, walk off with, water wave, wave, wavelet, welkin, whirl, whisk, white horses, whitecaps, windlass, wing, withdraw, zenith