hoist

[hoist or, sometimes, hahyst] /hɔɪst or, sometimes, haɪst/
verb (used with object)
1.
to raise or lift, especially by some mechanical appliance:
to hoist a flag; to hoist the mainsail.
2.
to raise to one's lips and drink; drink (especially beer or whiskey) with gusto:
Let's go hoist a few beers.
3.
Archaic. a simple past tense and past participle of hoise.
noun
4.
an apparatus for hoisting, as a block and tackle, a derrick, or a crane.
5.
act of hoisting; a lift:
Give that sofa a hoist at your end.
6.
Nautical.
  1. the vertical dimension amidships of any square sail that is hoisted with a yard.
    Compare drop (def 28).
  2. the distance between the hoisted and the lowered position of such a yard.
  3. the dimension of a fore-and-aft sail along the luff.
  4. a number of flags raised together as a signal.
7.
  1. the vertical dimension as flown from a vertical staff.
  2. the edge running next to the staff.
    Compare fly (def 36b).
Idioms
8.
hoist by / with one's own petard. petard (def 4).
Origin
1540-50; later variant of hoise, with -t as in against, etc.
Related forms
hoister, noun
unhoisted, adjective
Synonyms
1. elevate. See raise.
Antonyms
1. lower.

hoise

[hoiz] /hɔɪz/
verb (used with object), hoised or hoist, hoising. Archaic.
1.
to hoist.
Origin
1500-10; compare earlier hissa a cry used in hauling, and huzza
Examples from the web for hoist
  • The stretchers operate on battery power and lift patients, so paramedics do not have to hoist patients into ambulances.
  • Hill will be lucky if he does not find, before this special session is ended, that he has been hoist with his own petard.
  • When you hoist two items of equal weight, your brain may be doing some heavy lifting.
  • They'll hoist their weapons around cover and fire aimlessly to keep you suppressed.
  • It has a deep-water dock with a hoist and a screened and covered sitting area.
  • The broad white on blue goes at the upper corner next the hoist.
  • Such is the fate of the engineer: hoist by my own device.
  • Anyone who can hoist a dumbbell and print a business card on a home computer can call him or herself a personal trainer.
  • Is it illegal to hoist the nation's flag in its own territory.
  • Honest people are hoist on their own petard by bad laws and crusading cops.
British Dictionary definitions for hoist

hoist

/hɔɪst/
verb
1.
(transitive) to raise or lift up, esp by mechanical means
2.
hoist with one's own petard, See petard (sense 2)
noun
3.
any apparatus or device for hoisting
4.
the act of hoisting
5.
See rotary clothesline
6.
(nautical)
  1. the amidships height of a sail bent to the yard with which it is hoisted Compare drop (sense 15)
  2. the difference between the set and lowered positions of this yard
7.
(nautical) the length of the luff of a fore-and-aft sail
8.
(nautical) a group of signal flags
9.
the inner edge of a flag next to the staff Compare fly1 (sense 25)
Derived Forms
hoister, noun
Word Origin
C16: variant of hoise, probably from Low German; compare Dutch hijschen, German hissen
Word Origin and History for hoist
v.

1540s, "to raise," earlier hoise (c.1500), probably originally past tense of Middle English hysse (late 15c.), which is probably from Middle Dutch hyssen (Dutch hijsen) "to hoist," related to Low German hissen and Old Norse hissa upp "raise." A nautical word found in most European languages (e.g. French hisser, Italian issare, Spanish izar), but it is uncertain which had it first. Related: Hoisted; hoisting. In phrase hoist with one's own petard, it is the past participle.

For 'tis the sport, to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petar: and it shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon: O 'tis most sweet,
When in one line two crafts directly meet.
["Hamlet," Act III, Scene iv]
Meaning "to lift and remove" was prevalent c.1550-1750. As a noun, 1650s, from the verb.

Slang definitions & phrases for hoist

hoist

noun

: Crooks speak of a job of hold-up as a ''hoist''

verb
  1. To rob; steal; heist: The stall distracts the sales force while the hoister hoists (1708+ Underworld)
  2. To drink some beer or liquor: Let's stop at Harry's and hoist a few (1940s+)

Encyclopedia Article for hoist

mechanical device used primarily for raising and lowering heavy loads but occasionally for moving objects horizontally. It usually consists of a block and tackle-a combination of one or more fixed pulleys, a moving pulley with a hook or other similar means of attaching loads, and a rope (or cable) between them. Motive power for a hoist may be either manual or supplied by an electric motor. Electrically powered hoists, commonly mounted to the floor or wall, are used for varied lifting and hauling operations in factories and warehouses. See also block and tackle.

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