Lift

/lɪft/ noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: An act of lifting or raising.
  • Grammar: lift is listed as noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: elevation, elevator, raise, a leg up.
  • Useful contrasts: beleaguered, dense crowd push, depressed.
  • Usage evidence: We can lift the restrictions on imports once the joint agreement is signed.

How to use "lift"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lift" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lift" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lift" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lift" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "lift" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "elevation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "lift", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An act of lifting or raising. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    Air. Scotland, UK, dialectal, uncountable, usually
  3. 3
    the act of raising something wordnet
  4. 4
    The act of transporting someone in a vehicle; a ride; a trip. countable, uncountable

    "He gave me a lift to the bus station."

  5. 5
    The sky; the heavens; firmament; atmosphere. Scotland, UK, dialectal, uncountable, usually

    "No, no, Leddy! the sun maun be up in the lift whan I venture to her den."

Show 28 more definitions
  1. 6
    a ride in a car wordnet
  2. 7
    Mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building. Australia, India, New-Zealand, UK, countable, uncountable

    "Take the lift to the fourth floor."

  3. 8
    transportation of people or goods by air (especially when other means of access are unavailable) wordnet
  4. 9
    An upward force; especially, the force (generated by wings, rotary wings, or airfoils) that keeps aircraft aloft. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    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 wordnet
  6. 11
    The difference in elevation between the upper pool and lower pool of a waterway, separated by lock. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    the act of giving temporary assistance wordnet
  8. 13
    A thief. countable, historical, slang, uncountable

    "The lift came into the shop dressed like a country gentleman, but was careful not to have a cloak about him, so that the tradesman could see he had no opportunity to conceal any goods about his person."

  9. 14
    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 wordnet
  10. 15
    The lifting of a dance partner into the air. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    one of the layers forming the heel of a shoe or boot wordnet
  12. 17
    Permanent construction with a built-in platform that is lifted vertically. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    a device worn in a shoe or boot to make the wearer look taller or to correct a shortened leg wordnet
  14. 19
    An improvement in mood. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "The news rocked us, especially since we were anticipating a lift for our spirits under the grim circumstances."

  15. 20
    a powered conveyance that carries skiers up a hill wordnet
  16. 21
    The amount or weight to be lifted. countable, uncountable

    "What's the maximum lift of this crane?"

  17. 22
    a wave that lifts the surface of the water or ground wordnet
  18. 23
    The space or distance through which anything is lifted. countable, uncountable
  19. 24
    the event of something being raised upward wordnet
  20. 25
    A rise; a degree of elevation. countable, uncountable

    "the lift of a lock in canals"

  21. 26
    the component of the aerodynamic forces acting on an airfoil that opposes gravity wordnet
  22. 27
    A liftgate. countable, uncountable
  23. 28
    A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below, and used for raising or supporting the end of the yard. countable, uncountable
  24. 29
    One of the steps of a cone pulley. countable, uncountable
  25. 30
    A layer of leather in the heel of a shoe. countable, uncountable
  26. 31
    That portion of the vibration of a balance during which the impulse is given. countable, uncountable

    "some measure the total lift and others only the lift on one side, a quantity which is not exactly half of the total lift"

  27. 32
    A morphism which some given morphism factors through; i.e. given a pair of morphisms f:X→Y and g:Z→Y, a morphism h such that f=g∘h. (In this case h is said to be a lift of f via Z or via g). countable, uncountable

    "For a covering space p#58;#92;tildeX#92;toX a path #92;gamma [i.e. a continuous map #91;0,1#93;#92;toX] in X has a unique lift #92;tilde#92;gamma starting at a given point of p#123;-1#125;(#92;gamma(0))"

  28. 33
    A shorter extract from a commercial/advertisement, able to be used on its own. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To raise or rise. ambitransitive

    "The fog eventually lifted, leaving the streets clear."

  2. 2
    perform cosmetic surgery on someone's face wordnet
  3. 3
    To raise or rise.; To cause to move upwards. ambitransitive, transitive

    "Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic."

  4. 4
    remove from a surface wordnet
  5. 5
    To steal. slang, transitive

    "Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border side, And he has lifted the Colonel's mare that is the Colonel's pride."

Show 36 more definitions
  1. 6
    take off or away by decreasing wordnet
  2. 7
    To source directly without acknowledgement; to plagiarise. slang, transitive

    "Based on a similarity across a range of Anglo-Indian entries in these three dictionaries, it appears that (along with other lexis) Barrère and Leland (1898) copied this entry from Hotten (1864), who had in turn lifted it directly from Stocqueler (1848)."

  3. 8
    remove from a seedbed or from a nursery wordnet
  4. 9
    To arrest (a person). slang, transitive

    "Maybe the police lifted him and he's in Castlereagh [Interrogation Centre] because he'd been lifted three or four times previously and took to Castlereagh. They used to come in and raid the house and take him away."

  5. 10
    remove (hair) by scalping wordnet
  6. 11
    To remove (a ban, restriction, etc.). transitive
  7. 12
    put an end to a situation wordnet
  8. 13
    To alleviate, to lighten (pressure, tension, stress, etc.) transitive

    "The Gunners boss has been heavily criticised for his side's poor start to the Premier League season but this result helps lift the pressure."

  9. 14
    rise upward, as from pressure or moisture wordnet
  10. 15
    To disperse, to break up. Scotland, especially, intransitive

    "About three o'clock in the mornin', the company began to lift, and the room to get thinner and thinner."

  11. 16
    raise in rank or condition wordnet
  12. 17
    To lift weights; to weight-lift. informal, intransitive

    "She lifts twice a week at the gym."

  13. 18
    invigorate or heighten wordnet
  14. 19
    To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing.

    "strained by lifting at a weight too heavy"

  15. 20
    call to stop the hunt or to retire, as of hunting dogs wordnet
  16. 21
    To elevate or improve in rank, condition, etc.; often with up.

    "The Roman virtues lift up mortal man."

  17. 22
    cancel officially wordnet
  18. 23
    To bear; to support. obsolete

    "Th' earth him underneath Did grone, as feeble so great load to lift."

  19. 24
    make audible wordnet
  20. 25
    To collect, as moneys due; to raise.
  21. 26
    take (root crops) out of the ground wordnet
  22. 27
    Given morphisms f and g with the same target: To produce a morphism which the given morphism factors through (i.e. a morphism h such that f=g∘h; cf. lift n.etymology 1 18) transitive
  23. 28
    fly people or goods to or from places not accessible by other means wordnet
  24. 29
    Given morphisms f and g with the same target: To produce a morphism which the given morphism factors through (i.e. a morphism h such that f=g∘h; cf. lift n.etymology 1 18); To transform (a function) into a corresponding function in a different context. transitive

    "Finally, we can lift a partial function into a regular (total) function that returns an Option or a Some(value) when the partial function is defined for the input argument or None when it isn't."

  25. 30
    raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help wordnet
  26. 31
    To buy a security or other asset previously offered for sale.
  27. 32
    take hold of something and move it to a different location wordnet
  28. 33
    To take (hounds) off the existing scent and move them to another spot. transitive

    "I lifted the hounds (hoping to catch the leading ones there) to the far side of Hallaton Thorns."

  29. 34
    move upward wordnet
  30. 35
    move upwards wordnet
  31. 36
    raise from a lower to a higher position wordnet
  32. 37
    make off with belongings of others wordnet
  33. 38
    take illegally wordnet
  34. 39
    take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property wordnet
  35. 40
    pay off (a mortgage) wordnet
  36. 41
    rise up wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
elevationelevatorraisea leg upabstractabstract

Antonyms

beleaguereddense crowd pushdepresseddepressing

Example

"We can lift the restrictions on imports once the joint agreement is signed."

Common questions

What does "lift" mean?

An act of lifting or raising.

What is a synonym for "lift"?

Common synonyms include: elevation, elevator, raise, a leg up, abstract, abstract.

How do you use "lift" in a sentence?

We can lift the restrictions on imports once the joint agreement is signed.

How do you pronounce "lift"?

Pronounced /lɪft/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English liften, lyften, from Old Norse lypta (“to lift, air”, literally “to raise in the air”), from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną (“to raise in the air”), related to *luftuz (“roof, air”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”) or from a root meaning roof (see *luftuz). Cognate with Danish and Norwegian Bokmål løfte (“to lift”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish lyfta (“to lift”), German lüften (“to air, lift”), Old English lyft (“air”). See above. 1851 for the noun sense "a mechanical device for vertical transport". (To steal): For this sense Cleasby suggests perhaps a relation to the root of Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (hliftus) "thief", cognate with Latin cleptus and Greek κλέπτω (kléptō)).

Etymology 2

From Middle English lifte, luft, lefte (“air, sky, heaven”), from Old English lyft (“atmosphere, air”), from Proto-West Germanic *luftu, from Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“roof, sky, air”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”). Cognate with Old High German luft (“air”) (German Luft), Dutch lucht (“air”), Old Norse lopt, loft (“upper room, sky, air”). Doublet of loft and luft.

More for "lift"

Synonyms

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