heaving

Variant of heave

heave definition

heave (hēv)

transitive verb heaved, hove, heaving heav′·ing

  1. to raise or lift, esp. with effort
    1. to lift in this way and throw or cast
    2. to throw
  2. to make rise or swell, as one's chest
  3. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc.) with great effort or pain
  4. Geol. to displace (a stratum or vein), as by the intersection of another stratum or vein
  5. Naut. to raise, haul, pull, move, etc. by pulling with a rope or cable

Etymology: ME heven < OE hebban, akin to Ger heben (Goth hafjan) < IE base *kap-, to seize, grasp > have, L capere

intransitive verb

  1. to swell up; bulge out
  2. to rise and fall rhythmically heaving waves
  3. to make strenuous, spasmodic movements of the throat, chest, or stomach; specif.,
    1. to retch; vomit or try to vomit
    2. to pant; breathe hard; gasp
  4. Naut.
    1. to tug or haul (on or at a cable, rope, etc.)
    2. to push (at a capstan to turn it)
    3. to proceed; move a ship hove into sight

noun

  1. the act or effort of heaving
  2. a throw
  3. Geol.
    1. the extent of horizontal displacement caused by a fault
    2. an upward displacement of soil, rocks, etc., usually caused by frost or moisture
      often called heaving

Related Forms:

heave Idioms

heave ho!

an exclamation used by sailors, as when heaving in the anchor

heave to

  1. Naut. to stop forward movement, esp. by bringing the vessel's head into the wind and keeping it there
  2. to stop

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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