as in throwing
to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm
he lofted the ball down the center of the field toward a receiver
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Recent Examples of lofting
Those summer days of Williams moving around and lofting passes toward the target prepared him for that moment.
—
Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Six of those missions have been completed to date, lofting 153 Project Leo satellites to the final frontier.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Mitchell capped a nine-play, 71-yard opening drive by lofting an 11-yard touchdown to Blake Rogers on a third-and-goal slant.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 30 Nov. 2025
After not blitzing for three-plus quarters, Kuhr packed all of the Patriots' blitzes into the Bengals' final series, which ended with Flacco lofting an incompletion in the face of extra rushers.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
Now, based on the new research, scientists suspect dust devils may play a larger role in lofting dust into the Martian air than previously thought.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
This last item involves lofting a specialized spacecraft into orbit, armed with grippers or other satellite-wrangling tech that can target and grab orbiting stuff.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
On Tuesday’s flight, Starship’s 232-foot-tall Super Heavy booster, which normally returns to land in its launch tower’s giant chopstick-like catch-arms, instead targeted the Gulf of Mexico waters after lofting Starship to space.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The failure was due to some issue with the upper stage of the vehicle, which is capable of lofting about 3 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2025
Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Six of those missions have been completed to date, lofting 153 Project Leo satellites to the final frontier.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Mitchell capped a nine-play, 71-yard opening drive by lofting an 11-yard touchdown to Blake Rogers on a third-and-goal slant.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 30 Nov. 2025
After not blitzing for three-plus quarters, Kuhr packed all of the Patriots' blitzes into the Bengals' final series, which ended with Flacco lofting an incompletion in the face of extra rushers.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
Now, based on the new research, scientists suspect dust devils may play a larger role in lofting dust into the Martian air than previously thought.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
This last item involves lofting a specialized spacecraft into orbit, armed with grippers or other satellite-wrangling tech that can target and grab orbiting stuff.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
On Tuesday’s flight, Starship’s 232-foot-tall Super Heavy booster, which normally returns to land in its launch tower’s giant chopstick-like catch-arms, instead targeted the Gulf of Mexico waters after lofting Starship to space.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The failure was due to some issue with the upper stage of the vehicle, which is capable of lofting about 3 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lofting
Verb
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The duo got together for a throwing session a couple of weeks ago to hone their chemistry on routes.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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Panthers owner David Tepper, with a net worth of $20 billion, was fined only $300,000 for throwing a drink at Jaguars fans.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Soon after, federal agents began tossing tear gas toward the crowd and police, who were not wearing protective gear, video shows.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
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For more than 60 years (approximately 1906 to 1967), three beaches in Fort Bragg were used as dump sites, with people tossing household goods, glass, and more into the sea without much thought about the environmental consequences.—
Chelsee Lowe,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Each of these impact sites stands testament to the violence of its creation — cataclysmic collisions that carved vast basins in the lunar surface, while hurling debris miles across the face of Earth's natural satellite.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Immigration authorities appear to be hurling smoke bombs at protesters.—
Kyla Guilfoil,
NBC news,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With the shot clock winding down, Mara held the ball on the left block before flinging a desperation pass that ended up on the other end of the floor.—
Austin Meek,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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But as Gottlieb addressed the team after the game, her players burst into spontaneous celebration, flinging water at their coach and soaking in the afterglow of their biggest victory of the season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With one or two exceptions, this trade deadline may just be an accounting exercise of slinging slop contracts back and forth with negligible on-court impact.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Now, every one of those losses could devolve into a legal blame-slinging contest.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing Pretti had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of his pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.—
Rebecca Santana,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Trump has repeatedly violated laws — for example, by firing hundreds of thousands of civil servants against their statutory protections and abolishing agencies created by Congress.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lofting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lofting. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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