Heave-ho

//ˌhiv ˈhoʊ// intj, noun, verb, slang

intj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A cry of heave-ho.
  2. 2
    A rejection; a forced removal. informal

    "Why would you think I'm still seeing Colin Murphy? I gave him the heave-ho, remember?"

Verb
  1. 1
    To pull forcefully. informal

    "They were heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting, and fishing, for three hours;"

Intj
  1. 1
    An exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope.

    "Heave ho! up they hoisted their prize, dripping with moisture, and festooned with verdant water-moss."

Synonyms

All synonyms
dismissalhuzzahrejectionyeave-hoyeave-ho

Example

More examples

"Tom has just been given the heave-ho."

Etymology

From Middle English have howe.

Related phrases

to give someone the heave-hoyo-heave-ho

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.