Webster's English Dictionary

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lift

1. lift \'lift\ n [ME, fr. OE lyft] chiefly Scot  : HEAVENS, SKY 
2. lift vb [ME liften, fr. ON lypta; akin to OE lyft air - more at ]LOFT 
   1a: to raise from a lower to a higher position : ELEVATE  1b: to raise in 
   rank or condition  1c: to raise in rate or amount  2: to put an end to (a 
   blockade or siege) by withdrawing investing forces  3: REVOKE, RESCIND  4a: 
   STEAL  4b: PLAGIARIZE  4c: to take out of normal setting  5: to take up (as 
   a root crop or transplants) from the ground  6: to pay off (an obligation)  
   7a: to shift (artillery fire) from one area to another  7b: to withhold 
   (fire) from an area  8: to move from one place to another : TRANSPORT  9: 
   to take up (a fingerprint) from a surface  1a: ASCEND  1b: to appear 
   elevated (as above surrounding objects)  2a: to disperse upward {until the 
   fog ~s}  2b: to cease temporarily HEAVE, BOOST mean to move from a lower to 
   a higher place or position. LIFT usu. implies exerting effort to overcome 
   resistance of weight or, figuratively, depression or sluggishness; RAISE 
   carries a stronger implication of bringing up to the vertical or, 
   figuratively, bringing into being; REAR may add an element of suddenness to 
   RAISE; ELEVATE may replace LIFT or RAISE esp. when exalting or enhancing is 
   implied; HOIST implies lifting something heavy esp. by mechanical means; 
   HEAVE implies lifting with great effort or strain; BOOST suggests assisting 
   to climb or advance by a push - lift.er n SYN syn LIFT, RAISE, REAR, 
   ELEVATE, HOIST,  
3. lift n often attrib  1: the amount that may be lifted at one time : LOAD 
    2a: the action or an instance of lifting  2b: the action or an instance of 
   rising  2c: elevated carriage  2d: the lifting up of a dancer by her 
   partner  3: a device for lifting  4: an act of stealing : THEFT  5a: 
   ASSISTANCE, HELP  5b: a ride along one's way  6: one of the layers forming 
   the heel of a shoe  7: a rise or advance in position or condition  8: a 
   slight rise or elevation  9: the distance or extent to which something 
   rises  10: a set of pumps used in a mine  chiefly Brit  11a: ELEVATOR  11b: 
   an apparatus for raising an automobile (as for repair)  11c: a conveyor for 
   carrying people up or down a mountain slope  12a: an elevating influence  
   12b: an elevation of the spirits  13: the component of the total 
   aerodynamic force acting on an airplane or a irfoil that is perpendicular 
   to the relative wind and that for an airplane constitutes the upward force 
   that opposes the pull of gravity