lift

n.

1. The work of lifting

   pull, lifting, upthrow, ascension, raising, weight, foot-pounds, elevation, sub-elevation, escalation, ascent, mounting.

2. *A ride

   transportation, drive, passage; see journey.

3. *Aid

   help, assistance, support; see aid 1.

lift

v.

lift, in its general literal sense, implies the use of some effort in bringing something up to a higher position help me lift the table; raise, often interchangeable with lift, may specifically imply bringing into an upright position by lifting one end to raise a flagpole; elevate is now a less frequent synonym for lift or raisethe balloon had been elevated 500 feet; rear is a literary equivalent of raisethe giant trees reared their branches to the sky; hoist implies the lifting of something heavy, usually by some mechanical means, as a block and tackle or a crane to hoist bales of cotton into a ship; boost is a colloquial term and implies lifting by or as if by a push from behind or below boost me into the tree. All these terms are used figuratively to imply bringing into a higher or better state to lift, or hoist, one's spirits, to raise one's hopes, to elevate one's mind, to rear children, to boost sales