1
as in hoisting
to lift with effort
hefted his growing son onto his shoulders
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lifting
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
heft your baggy gym shorts a little higher—you're showing us more than we care to see
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hefting
Instead of hefting a heavy steel basket, Sanitation workers flip back half of the upper steel collar and pull out a lightweight plastic liner.
—
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2026
Early the next morning, in the dark, prosecutors say, he was spotted on camera hefting a large, heavy object into his car trunk.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2025
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2026
Early the next morning, in the dark, prosecutors say, he was spotted on camera hefting a large, heavy object into his car trunk.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hefting
Verb
-
The statue depicts a man in a suit hoisting a large flag.—
Anastasia Tsioulcas,
NPR,
2 May 2026
-
Joel Edmundson scored and Anton Forsberg stopped 27 shots for the Kings, whose fifth consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs ended with their eighth consecutive postseason defeat over the past two years and their seventh straight first-round exit since hoisting the Cup 12 years ago.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Celtics started 1-for-7 from the field and fell behind 11-3 before Mazzulla made his first change, lifting Harper and sending in Payton Pritchard.—
Zack Cox,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
-
The brand says the V-design on the back of these wide-leg pants creates a butt-lifting effect.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
His groundstrokes rip through the court, but the power all comes from timing and the kinetic chain, rather than muscling or heaving the ball.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In photo after photo, video after video, North Shore residents are painted in mud, scraping it off driveways, sweeping it out of kitchens and heaving it into trucks along with their household debris.—
Thomas Heaton,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Walker was also experiencing a mental health issue and was shot after raising a knife.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Several early tests failed, raising questions about the program’s future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hefting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hefting. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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