I. heave 1 /hiːv/ BrE AmE verb
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hebban ]
1 . PULL/LIFT [intransitive and transitive] to pull or lift something very heavy with one great effort
heave somebody/something out of/into/onto etc something
Alan heaved his suitcase onto his bed.
Mary heaved herself out of bed.
heave on/at British English :
He heaved on the steering wheel and swung the car into a side street.
2 . THROW [transitive] to throw something heavy using a lot of effort:
John heaved the metal bar over the fence.
3 . heave a sigh to breathe in and then breathe out noisily and slowly once:
Rebecca heaved a sigh of relief.
4 . MOVE UP AND DOWN [intransitive] to move up and down with very strong movements:
Michael’s shoulders heaved with silent laughter.
The sea heaved up and down beneath the boat.
5 . VOMIT [intransitive] informal to ↑ vomit
6 . ( past tense and past participle hove ) heave in sight/into view literary to appear, especially by getting closer from a distance:
A few moments later a large ship hove into view.
⇨ ↑ heaving
heave to phrasal verb ( past tense and past participle hove to /ˌhəʊv ˈtuː $ ˌhoʊv-/) technical
if a ship heaves to, it stops moving
II. heave 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable] a strong pulling, pushing, or lifting movement:
He gave the door a good heave.
2 . [uncountable] literary a strong rising or falling movement