Meaning

The feel of the weight of something; heaviness..

Definitions by Sense

1. The feel of the weight of something; heaviness.
2. The force exerted by an object due to gravitation; weight.
3. Graveness, seriousness; gravity.
4. Importance, influence; weight.
5. The greater part of something; the bulk, the mass.
6. An act of lifting; a lift.
7. An act of heaving (lifting with difficulty); an instance of violent exertion or straining.
8. To lift or lift up (something, especially a heavy object).

Example Sentences

A high quality hammer should have good balance and heft.

But Durindan at laſt fell vvith ſuch heft, / Full on the circle of Rogeros ſhield, / That halfe vvay through the Argent byrd it cleft, / And pierſt the core of male [i.e., mail] that vvas vvithin, / And found a paſſage to the verie skin.

I pictured him doing violence to his better nature, and only wanting a good heft of circumstance to enable him to throw off his load of deviltry.

Unlike most moons of the solar system, ours has the heft to pull itself into a sphere.

The skull [of a Hubbs' beaked whale] was an awkward armload. Bizarrely, its size, shape, and long, narrow bill brought to mind the head of Big Bird from Sesame Street, but with none of bird-bone's lightness: It had heft and density.

The man had been carried out of the yard while the fire was still burning; […] Public opinion was much divided, some holding that it would go hard with a man of his age and heft; but the common belief seemed to be that he was of that sort "as'd take a deal o'killin'," and that he would be none the worse for such a fall as that.

"Look at the heft of 'n [a baby]," said the proud father, "entirely drags ye down, Miss Sybil, 'e do."

Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.

Word Forms

• hefts
• haft
• hefting
• hefted

Synonyms for heft

Related Words

When Should You Use Heft?

Use heft when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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