lift
• verb 1 raise or be raised to a higher position or level. 2 pick up and move to a different position. 3 formally remove or end (a legal restriction, decision, etc.). 4 (lift off) (of an aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) take off, especially vertically. 5 carry off or win (a prize or event). 6 informal steal. • noun 1 Brit. a platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things. 2 an act or instance of lifting. 3 a free ride in another person’s vehicle. 4 a device for carrying people up or down a mountain. 5 a feeling of increased cheerfulness. 6 upward force exerted by the air on an aerofoil or other structure. — PHRASES lift a finger (or hand) make the slightest effort: he wouldn’t lift a finger to help. — DERIVATIVES liftable adjective lifter noun. — ORIGIN Old Norse, related to LOFT.
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