LIFT

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lyft Date: before 12th century heavens, sky , II. verb see: loft Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to raise from a lower to a higher position ; elevate , to raise in rank or condition, to raise in rate or amount, to put an end to (a blockade or siege) by withdrawing or causing the withdrawal of investing forces, revoke , rescind , 4. steal , plagiarize , to take out of normal setting , to take up (as a root crop or transplants) from the ground, to pay off (an obligation) , to move from one place to another (as by aircraft) ; transport , to take up (a fingerprint) from a surface, intransitive verb 1. ascend , rise , to appear elevated (as above surrounding objects), to dissipate and clear, ~able adjective ~er noun Synonyms: see: ~ III. noun Date: 14th century the amount that may be ~ed at one time ; load , 2. the action or an instance of ~ing, the action or an instance of rising, elevated carriage (as of a body part), the ~ing up (as of a dancer) usually by a partner, a device (as a handle or latch) for ~ing, an act of stealing ; theft , 5. assistance , help , a ride especially along one's way, a layer in the heel of a shoe, a rise or advance in position or condition, a slight rise or elevation, the distance or extent to which something rises, an apparatus or machine used for hoisting: as, a set of pumps used in a mine, elevator 1b, an apparatus for raising an automobile (as for repair), ski ~ , 11. an elevating influence, an elevation of the spirit, 12. the component of the total aerodynamic force acting on an airplane or airfoil that is perpendicular to the relative wind and that for an airplane constitutes the upward force that opposes the pull of gravity, an updraft that can be used to increase altitude (as of a sailplane), an organized movement of people, equipment, or supplies by some form of transportation