heave Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an upward movement (especially a rhythmical rising and falling)
    heaving.
    • the heaving of waves on a rough sea
  2. noun (geology) a horizontal dislocation
  3. noun the act of lifting something with great effort
    heaving.
  4. noun an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting
    retch.
    • a bad case of the heaves
  5. noun the act of raising something
    lift; raise.
    • he responded with a lift of his eyebrow
    • fireman learn several different raises for getting ladders up
  6. noun throwing something heavy (with great effort)
    heaving.
    • he gave it a mighty heave
    • he was not good at heaving passes
  7. verb utter a sound, as with obvious effort
    • She heaved a deep sigh when she saw the list of things to do
  8. verb throw with great effort
  9. verb rise and move, as in waves or billows
    surge; billow.
    • The army surged forward
  10. verb lift or elevate
    heave up; heft; heft up.
  11. verb move or cause to move in a specified way, direction, or position
    • The vessel hove into sight
  12. verb breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
    puff; gasp; pant.
    • The runners reached the finish line, panting heavily
  13. verb bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat
    buckle; warp.
    • The highway buckled during the heat wave
  14. verb make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit
    gag; retch.

WordNet

Heave transitive verb
Etymology
OE. heven, hebben, As. hebban; akin to OS. hebbian, D. heffen, OHG. heffan, hevan, G. heven, Icel. häfva, Dan. hæve, Goth. hafjan, L. capere to take, seize; cf. Gr. handle. Cf. Accept, Behoof, Capacious, Forceps, haft, Receipt.
Wordforms
imperfect Heaved or Hove ; past participle Heaved, Hove, formerly Hoven ; present participle & verbal noun Heaving
Definitions
  1. To cause to move upward or onward by a lifting effort; to lift; to raise; to hoist; -- often with up; as, the wave heaved the boat on land.
    One heaved ahigh, to be hurled down below. Shak.
    ✍ Heave, as now used, implies that the thing raised is heavy or hard to move; but formerly it was used in a less restricted sense.
    Here a little child I stand, Heaving up my either hand. Herrick.
  2. To throw; to cast; -- obsolete, provincial, or colloquial, except in certain nautical phrases; as, to heave the lead; to heave the log.
  3. To force from, or into, any position; to cause to move; also, to throw off; -- mostly used in certain nautical phrases; as, to heave the ship ahead.
  4. To raise or force from the breast; to utter with effort; as, to heave a sigh.
    The wretched animal heaved forth such groans. Shak.
  5. To cause to swell or rise, as the breast or bosom.
    The glittering, finny swarms That heave our friths, and crowd upon our shores. Thomson.
Heave intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To be thrown up or raised; to rise upward, as a tower or mound.
    And the huge columns heave into the sky. Pope.
    Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap. Gray.
    The heaving sods of Bunker Hill. E. Everett.
  2. To rise and fall with alternate motions, as the lungs in heavy breathing, as waves in a heavy sea, as ships on the billows, as the earth when broken up by frost, etc.; to swell; to dilate; to expand; to distend; hence, to labor; to struggle.
    Frequent for breath his panting bosom heaves. Prior.
    The heaving plain of ocean. Byron.
  3. To make an effort to raise, throw, or move anything; to strain to do something difficult.
    The Church of England had struggled and heaved at a reformation ever since Wyclif's days. Atterbury.
  4. To make an effort to vomit; to retch; to vomit.
Heave noun
Definitions
  1. An effort to raise something, as a weight, or one's self, or to move something heavy.
    After many strains and heaves He got up to his saddle eaves. Hudibras.
  2. An upward motion; a rising; a swell or distention, as of the breast in difficult breathing, of the waves, of the earth in an earthquake, and the like.
    There's matter in these sighs, these profound heaves, You must translate. Shak.
    None could guess whether the next heave of the earthquake would settle . . . or swallow them. Dryden.
  3. (Geol.) A horizontal dislocation in a metallic lode, taking place at an intersection with another lode.

Webster 1913