heist

1 of 2

verb

ˈhīst 

heisted; heisting; heists

transitive verb

1

chiefly dialectal : hoist

2

a

: to commit armed robbery on

b

: steal sense 1a

heist

2 of 2

noun

: armed robbery : holdup

also : theft

Synonyms of heist

Verb

• steal

Noun

• theft

Examples of heist in a Sentence

Verb

a professional burglar was able to heist a box of jewelry from the safe in the closet

Noun

it was the largest jewelry heist in the city's history

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

An unusual criminal ring focused entirely on heisting semi-trucks, trailers and dump trucks has been busted in Florida, resulting in $6 million worth of heavy equipment being found, according to investigators. — Mark Price, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2025

And Bannon got directly to business, spinning a tale to his viewers of Democrats plotting to heist the 2024 election. — Tess Owen, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2024

Noun

In a world that escalated from criminals planning a heist to steal DVD players to flying in a rocketship to space, anything’s possible. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026

Combating cargo theft The sheer scale of these heists—targeting hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment from commercial trailers—points not to petty theft, but organized criminals. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

variant of hoist entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1778, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heist

• diced
• feist
• iced
• lysed
• priced
• sliced
• spiced
• spliced
• triste
• antichrist
• overpriced
• poltergeist

Kids Definition

heist

noun

ˈhīst

: armed robbery

also : theft

Etymology

Noun

from a dialect variant of hoist "an act of hoisting"