loft

(lôft, läft)

noun

1. an attic or atticlike space, usually not partitioned off into rooms, immediately below the roof of a house, barn, etc.
2. ☆ any of the upper stories of a warehouse or factory; now often, specif., a dwelling space, artist's studio, etc. on an upper story of a converted warehouse or factory
a gallery: the choir loft in a church
1. the slope given to the face of a golf club to aid in knocking the ball in a high curve
2. the height attained by hitting or throwing a ball in a high curve

Origin: ME lofte < Late OE loft < ON lopt, upper room, air, sky (akin to OE lyft, air, sky) < IE base *leup-, *leubh-, to peel off > leaf

transitive verb

to store in a loft
1. to hit or throw (a golf ball, baseball, etc.) into the air in a high curve
2. to throw (a bowling ball) so that it strikes the alley sharply some distance past the foul line

intransitive verb

to loft a ball

Related Forms:

See loft in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A large, usually unpartitioned floor over a factory, warehouse, or other commercial or industrial space.
b. Such a floor converted into an apartment or artist's studio.
An open space under a roof; an attic or garret.
A gallery or balcony, as in a church.
A hayloft.
Sports
a. The backward slant of the face of a golf club head, designed to drive the ball in a high arc.
b. A golf stroke that drives the ball in a high arc.
c. The upward course of a ball driven in a high arc.
a. The thickness of a fabric or yarn.
b. The thickness of an item, such as a down comforter, that is filled with compressible insulating material.

verb loft·ed, loft·ing, lofts

verb, transitive

To put, store, or keep in a loft.
To propel in a high arc: lofted the ball into the outfield.
Nautical To lay out a full-size drawing of (the parts of a ship's hull, for example).

verb, intransitive