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Glite Dictionary
to heft up

to heft up

1 6.1
To lift something with effort to see how heavy it is
  • phrasal verb
  • /hɛft ʌp/
  • Informal
translation icon : levantar
  • Together they hefted up the body so they could carry it up the stairs.

Examples

  • His eyes widened as yet another petite figure was hefted up onto the crate beside her! Mother!

    Fiction book (1992)

  • We were barely able to heft up the metal bucket onto the bluff.

  • Suddenly, Anna la-de-dahs into the apartment, hefting up two big grocery bags.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He ran for the brink and hefted up a bucketful.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • He hefted them up.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Snickers hefts up his rifle and turns toward the kitchen when suddenly, with his alive leg, Hawk boots Snickers in the genitals.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He hefts up the two now frameless mirrors and puts them each in a groove of a collapsible yardstick running across the top.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She squinted as we hefted up her luggage onto the spacious porch.

Synonyms

to pick up
vsto heft up
834 1.0

To lift something or someone from the ground with your hands

often needs stronger effort or is done to feel how heavy it is
to lift up
vsto heft up
107 1.1

To raise someone or something to a higher place

often involves effort or testing weight instead of a simple upward move
to hoist
vsto heft up
79 4.7

To lift heavy things using ropes, pulleys, or a machine

is usually manual and may test weight or need physical effort
to take up
vsto heft up
56 2.0

To lift something up, often with a spoon or tool

focuses more on testing weight or heavy effort rather than scooping motion
to heave
vsto heft up
35 3.9

To lift or pull something heavy with effort

is often used to test how heavy something is rather than only force
to boost
vsto heft up
21 2.5

To push someone up from below so they reach a higher place

usually involves manual effort or testing weight rather than just helping
to push up
vsto heft up
11 2.1

Move something to a higher place by pushing from below or behind

is often done to check weight or by pulling rather than by upward pressure
to heft
vsto heft up
7 7.2

To lift something to judge how heavy it is

focuses more on effortful moving rather than only testing weight
to raise up
vsto heft up
7 2.1

To lift something or someone to a higher place

tends to stress doing it with effort or to check weight
to jack up
vsto heft up
4 4.3

To lift a car or truck off the ground with a small lifting tool

is more about hand effort or testing weight rather than using a device
to heave up
vsto heft up
  • Informal
3 4.5

To lift something heavy with a lot of effort

focuses more on checking weight than on raw force
to uprear
vsto heft up
  • Archaic
8.8

To lift something to a higher position

is more about effort or checking weight than plain elevation

Antonyms

to set down
70 1.7

To put something or someone down gently on a surface

How Forceful

to heave up
  • Informal
3 4.5
to heft up
  • Informal
1 6.1
to lift
553 1.0
to pick up
834 1.0

Surface Forms

heft up infinitive
hefted up past
hefted up past participle
hefting up present participle
hefts up third person singular

Morphology

heft + up

The meaning 'to lift or raise something (often to test its weight)' is directly and transparently derived from 'heft' (to lift briefly or estimate weight) plus the directional particle 'up' (to a higher position). This verb + particle composition follows standard English combinatory patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Heft up may come from the old word heft, which meant to lift something to feel how heavy it is, and up shows the upward movement. When you heft up a box you lift it a little to check its weight, so the phrase means 'to lift or test the weight'.