verb (used with object),heaved or (especially Nautical) hove;heav·ing.
to raise or lift with effort or force; hoist: to heave a heavy ax.
to throw, especially to lift and throw with effort, force, or violence: to heave an anchor overboard; to heave a stone through a window.
Nautical.
to move into a certain position or situation: to heave a vessel aback.
to move in a certain direction: Heave the capstan around! Heave up the anchor!
to utter laboriously or painfully: to heave a sigh.
to cause to rise and fall with or as with a swelling motion: to heave one's chest.
to vomit; throw up: He heaved his breakfast before noon.
to haul or pull on (a rope, cable, line, etc.), as with the hands or a capstan: Heave the anchor cable!
verb (used without object),heaved or (especially Nautical) hove;heav·ing.
to rise and fall in rhythmically alternate movements: The ship heaved and rolled in the swelling sea.
to breathe with effort; pant: He sat there heaving and puffing from the effort.
to vomit; retch.
to rise as if thrust up, as a hill; swell or bulge: The ground heaved and small fissures appeared for miles around.
to pull or haul on a rope, cable, etc.
to push, as on a capstan bar.
Nautical.
to move in a certain direction or into a certain position or situation: heave about; heave alongside; heave in stays.
(of a vessel) to rise and fall, as with a heavy beam sea.
noun
an act or effort of heaving.
a throw, toss, or cast.
Geology. the horizontal component of the apparent displacement resulting from a fault, measured in a vertical plane perpendicular to the strike.
the rise and fall of the waves or swell of a sea.
heaves, (used with a singular verb)Also called broken wind. Veterinary Pathology. a disease of horses, similar to asthma in human beings, characterized by difficult breathing.
Verb Phrases
heave down,Nautical. to careen (a vessel).
heave out,Nautical.
to shake loose (a reef taken in a sail).
to loosen (a sail) from its gaskets in order to set it.
heave to,
Nautical.to stop the headway of (a vessel), especially by bringing the head to the wind and trimming the sails so that they act against one another.
to come to a halt.
Idioms for heave
heave ho(an exclamation used by sailors, as when heaving the anchor up.)
heave in sight, to rise to view, as from below the horizon: The ship hove in sight as dawn began to break.
heave the lead. lead2 (def. 16).
Origin of heave
First recorded before 900; Middle English heven, variant (with -v- from simple past tense and past participle) of hebben, Old English hebban; cognate with German heben, Old Norse hefja, Gothic hafjan; akin to Latin capere “to take”
SYNONYMS FOR heave
1 elevate.
2 hurl, pitch, fling, cast, sling.
11 surge, billow.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR heave ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for heave
1. See raise.
OTHER WORDS FROM heave
heaver,nounheaveless,adjectiveun·heaved,adjective
Words nearby heave
heat-treat, heat up, heat urticaria, heat wave, heaume, heave, heave down, heave-ho, heave-ho, give the, heave into sight, heaven
But Lomax can heave a small sigh of relief, at least for now: Legislative reform to the 1033 program will not happen in 2014.
SWAT Lobby Shoots to Kill Police Reform After Ferguson|Tim Mak|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Chinook vibrated with deeper and deeper groans until its twin engines managed to heave up our dead weight.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We get in line, and on the count of three, we heave a log onto our shoulders.
Exercising Like a Caveman: A.J. Jacobs Gets Primal|A.J. Jacobs|April 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The men have to put their shoulders under the gunwale, and heave and strain with all their might.
Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier|James Inglis
The launch and cutter being instantly hoisted out, the usual preparations were made to lay out a kedge, to heave the ship off.
The Lieutenant and Commander|Basil Hall
The organ was pealing softly and plaintively, and the little gray coat seemed to heave as with a sob.
A Reputed Changeling|Charlotte M. Yonge
Heave again, and, when you are a-weigh, put the helm to port and hoist the jib.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana
The tide was rising, anchors were carried out, and desperate efforts were made to heave the vessel off.
The African Trader|W. H. G. Kingston
British Dictionary definitions for heave
heave
/ (hiːv) /
verbheaves, heavingorheavedormainlynauticalhove
(tr)to lift or move with a great effort
(tr)to throw (something heavy) with effort
to utter (sounds, sighs, etc) or breathe noisily or unhappilyto heave a sigh
to rise and fall or cause to rise and fall heavily
(past tense and past participle hove)nautical
to move or cause to move in a specified way, direction, or positionto heave in sight
(intr)(of a vessel) to pitch or roll
(tr)to displace (rock strata, mineral veins, etc) in a horizontal direction
(intr)to retch
noun
the act or an instance of heaving
a fling
the horizontal displacement of rock strata at a fault
See also heave down, heaves, heave to
Derived forms of heave
heaver, noun
Word Origin for heave
Old English hebban; related to Old Norse hefja, Old Saxon hebbian, Old High German heffen to raise, Latin capere to take, Sanskrit kapatī two hands full