See Also: heave(medicine)
heave(1)(dictionary)
heave(2)(dictionary)
heave-ho(dictionary)
yo-heave-ho(dictionary)
heave-ho(dictionary)
Heave - Sailing(gambling)
heave 1, verb(dictionary)
heave 2, noun(dictionary)

heave(2) (iou)



heave verb. .
[Old English hebban = Old Frisian heva, Old Saxon hebbian (Dutch heffen), Old High German heffen (German heben), Old Norse hefja, Gothic hafjan, from Germanic word rel. to Latin capere take.]
I. verb trans.
Lift or raise up. Now only (exc. arch. & dial.), lift, raise, or move with effort or force. Freq. foll. by up, down, etc. OE.
Pope Her trembling hand she heaves To rend her hair. S. Middleton The congregation heaved itself to its feet. E. Crispin Fen went and heaved the motor-cycle in to the side of the lane. P. Fitzgerald Heaving up the two volumes of the Shorter Oxford Dictionary.
b. Nautical. Haul up, raise, pull, cause (a ship) to move in a specified direction, by means of a rope; weigh (anchor); pull on (a rope). E17.
Lifeboat Martin first thought he might be able to heave the lifeboat in closer.
fig. Raise, lift. Formerly also, exalt, lift up, elevate, in dignity, station, etc. OE.
Milton For the prevention of growing schisme the Bishop was heav'd above the Presbyter. W. Irving The resolution..heaved a load from off my heart.
spec. (Of a sponsor at baptism) lift (a child) from the font; fig. stand sponsor to; baptize, christen. ME-L16.
a. Lift and take away, carry off; remove; Criminals' slang rob. ME-L17.
b. Throw, fling, hurl (esp. something heavy requiring effort). Now only Nautical & colloq. L16.
C. Kingsley Tom was..hiding behind a wall, to heave half a brick at his horse's legs.
c. Of a mineral vein or rock stratum: move away or displace (an intersecting vein or stratum). E18.
a. Cause to swell or rise; spec. cause bloat in (livestock). Now dial. LME.
b. Cause to rise repeatedly. E17.
Sir W. Scott The death-pangs of long-cherished hope..Convulsive heaved its chequered shroud.
Utter (a sigh, groan, etc.) with effort or with a deep breath which causes the chest to rise; draw (a breath) with effort. L15.
P. de Vries I heaved a long, defeated sigh, blowing out my cheeks. J. Harvey He only sat..heaving long shuddering breaths.
II. verb intrans.
Make an effort to lift or move something; push or pull with force. Formerly also, foll. by at: aim at, fig. strive after. ME.
L. Deighton He heaved desperately on the stick with one hand. J. Updike They heaved at the snow in their driveways.
b. Nautical. Pull or haul at (a rope); move a ship, (of a ship) move, in a specified direction by such means. E17.
transf.: S. Beckett Nothing will induce her to throw herself down till he actually heaves into view.
Rise, rear up or up. Now rare exc. as below. ME.
E. K. Kane This ice seems to heave up slowly against the sky.
Rise up above the general surface, expand; (now dial.) swell up. E17.
Daily Telegraph So violently did the soil heave when frozen after it was so damp.
Rise in alternation with sinking, as waves, or the chest in deep breathing. E17.
D. H. Lawrence The sea heaved with a sucking noise inside the dock. R. P. Jhabvala Her chest..was heaving..with heavy sobs. M. Piercy The ceiling above them heaved like a bullfrog's throat.
b. Pant; gasp for breath. L17.
Make an effort to vomit, retch, gag. E17.
M. Scammell A meatless, saltless, fatless, evil-smelling nettle soup that made his stomach heave.
Phrases, & with adverbs in specialized senses: heave down turn (a ship) over on one side for cleaning, repairing, etc. heave in sight (Nautical & colloq.) become visible. heave the gorge retch, gag. heave the log: see LOG noun1. heave to verb phr. trans. & intrans. (a) verb phr. trans. bring (a vessel) to a standstill without anchoring; (b) verb phr. intrans. (of a vessel) be brought to a standstill in this way. heaving line Nautical a line, usu. five to ten fathoms long and weighted at one end, used to cast a heavier line to another vessel or to the shore when coming alongside.
heaving adjective (a) that heaves; (b) colloq. (of a place) extremely crowded: E17.