heave

[heev] /hiv/
verb (used with object), heaved or (especially Nautical) hove; heaving.
1.
to raise or lift with effort or force; hoist:
to heave a heavy ax.
2.
to throw, especially to lift and throw with effort, force, or violence:
to heave an anchor overboard; to heave a stone through a window.
3.
Nautical.
  1. to move into a certain position or situation:
    to heave a vessel aback.
  2. to move in a certain direction:
    Heave the capstan around! Heave up the anchor!
4.
to utter laboriously or painfully:
to heave a sigh.
5.
to cause to rise and fall with or as with a swelling motion:
to heave one's chest.
6.
to vomit; throw up:
He heaved his breakfast before noon.
7.
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; heaving.
8.
to rise and fall in rhythmically alternate movements:
The ship heaved and rolled in the swelling sea.
9.
to breathe with effort; pant:
He sat there heaving and puffing from the effort.
10.
to vomit; retch.
11.
to rise as if thrust up, as a hill; swell or bulge:
The ground heaved and small fissures appeared for miles around.
12.
to pull or haul on a rope, cable, etc.
13.
to push, as on a capstan bar.
14.
Nautical.
  1. to move in a certain direction or into a certain position or situation:
    heave about; heave alongside; heave in stays.
  2. (of a vessel) to rise and fall, as with a heavy beam sea.
noun
15.
an act or effort of heaving.
16.
a throw, toss, or cast.
17.
Geology. the horizontal component of the apparent displacement resulting from a fault, measured in a vertical plane perpendicular to the strike.
18.
the rise and fall of the waves or swell of a sea.
19.
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
20.
heave down, Nautical. to careen (a vessel).
21.
heave out, Nautical.
  1. to shake loose (a reef taken in a sail).
  2. to loosen (a sail) from its gaskets in order to set it.
22.
heave to,
  1. 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.
  2. to come to a halt.
Idioms
23.
heave ho, (an exclamation used by sailors, as when heaving the anchor up.)
24.
heave in sight, to rise to view, as from below the horizon:
The ship hove in sight as dawn began to break.
25.
heave the lead. lead2 (def 16).
Origin
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
Related forms
heaver, noun
heaveless, adjective
unheaved, adjective
Synonyms
1. elevate. See raise. 2. hurl, pitch, fling, cast, sling. 11. surge, billow.
Examples from the web for heaves
  • The sea of a mighty population, held in galling fetters, heaves uneasily in the tenements.
  • Morning sickness and dry heaves made her too nauseated to crave cigarettes.
  • At another he heaves patio furniture into the swimming pool.
  • The ship also heaves, being borne up and dropped down as it crosses the surging sea.
  • Ledger picks up a few and heaves them toward the heavens.
  • Retching is the movement of the stomach and esophagus without vomiting and is also called dry heaves.
  • Whether it's mud in the spring or frost heaves in winter, the presence of water in roads is nothing but trouble.
  • Frost action heaves the rocks upward during the winter.
  • The asphalt heaves upward as the water under the road and in small cracks freezes and expands.
  • From pooling and icing to frost heaves and corrosion, water causes myriad challenges for departments of transportation.
British Dictionary definitions for heaves

heaves

/hiːvz/
noun (functioning as singular or pl)
1.
Also called broken wind. a chronic respiratory disorder of animals of the horse family caused by allergies and dust
2.
(slang) the heaves, an attack of vomiting or retching

heave

/hiːv/
verb heaves, heaving, heaved (mainly nautical) hove
1.
(transitive) to lift or move with a great effort
2.
(transitive) to throw (something heavy) with effort
3.
to utter (sounds, sighs, etc) or breathe noisily or unhappily: to heave a sigh
4.
to rise and fall or cause to rise and fall heavily
5.
(past tense and past participle hove) (nautical)
  1. to move or cause to move in a specified way, direction, or position: to heave in sight
  2. (intransitive) (of a vessel) to pitch or roll
6.
(transitive) to displace (rock strata, mineral veins, etc) in a horizontal direction
7.
(intransitive) to retch
noun
8.
the act or an instance of heaving
9.
a fling
10.
the horizontal displacement of rock strata at a fault
Derived Forms
heaver, noun
Word Origin
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
Word Origin and History for heaves

heave

v.

Old English hebban "to lift, raise; lift up, exalt" (class VI strong verb; past tense hof, past participle hafen), from Proto-Germanic *hafjan (cf. Old Norse hefja, Dutch heffen, German heben, Gothic hafjan "to lift, raise"), from PIE *kap-yo-, from root *kap- "to grasp" (see capable).

Related to Old English habban "to hold, possess." Intransitive use by c.1200. Meaning "to throw" is from 1590s. Sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is first attested c.1600. Related: Heaved; heaving. Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting (c.1300, hevelow).

n.

1570s, from heave (v.).

Slang definitions & phrases for heaves

heave

noun

A shelter: Heave. Any shelter used by a policeman to avoid the elements (1950s+ Police)

verb

To vomit; barf (1868+)


Encyclopedia Article for heaves

chronic disorder of the lungs of horses and cows, characterized by difficult breathing and wheezy cough. The symptoms are worsened by vigorous exercise, sudden weather changes, and overfeeding. Heaves resulting from bronchitis may be associated with the feeding of dusty or moldy hay. In horses the condition may be of allergic origin. Chronic pulmonary emphysema also induces heaves. See emphysema.

Learn more about heaves with a free trial on Britannica.com