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Definition of heave verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

heave

verb
 
/hiːv/
 
/hiːv/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they heave
 
/hiːv/
 
/hiːv/
he / she / it heaves
 
/hiːvz/
 
/hiːvz/
past simple heaved
 
/hiːvd/
 
/hiːvd/
past participle heaved
 
/hiːvd/
 
/hiːvd/
-ing form heaving
 
/ˈhiːvɪŋ/
 
/ˈhiːvɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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  1. [transitive, intransitive] to lift, pull or throw somebody/something very heavy with one great effort
    • heave something/somebody/yourself + adv./prep. I managed to heave the trunk down the stairs.
    • I gripped his arm and heaved him to his feet.
    • He heaved himself out of his armchair.
    • + adv./prep. We all heaved on the rope.
    • Heave away lads!
    Extra Examples
    • He heaved the bag up into the truck.
    • We managed to heave his great bulk onto the bed.
    • I tried to heave myself up onto my knees.
    • Sam heaved at the garage door.
  2. [intransitive] to rise up and down with strong, regular movements
    • The boat heaved beneath them.
    • heave with something Her shoulders heaved with laughter.
  3. [transitive] heave a sigh, etc. to make a sound slowly and often with effort
    • We all heaved a sigh of relief.
    • She heaved a long sigh.
  4. [intransitive] to experience the tight feeling in your stomach that you get before you vomit synonym retch
    • The thought of it makes me heave.
    • His stomach heaved.
  5. Word OriginOld English hebban, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heffen and German heben ‘lift up’.
Idioms
heave into sight/view
  1. (formal) (especially of ships) to appear, especially when moving gradually closer from a long way off
    • A ship hove into sight.
    • Like a galleon in full sail, Cara hove into view.
    Hove is usually used for the past tense and past participle in this idiom.Topics Transport by waterc2
See heave in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
halfway
adverb
 
 
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