heft
heft Lexical Profile
heft Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The weight or heaviness of an object, especially as judged by lifting it.
"The carpenter appreciated the solid, balanced heft of the new steel hammer."
Substantial influence, importance, or intellectual depth.
"The bipartisan commission was given the institutional heft needed to enact meaningful reforms."
British An unfenced tract of upland pasture to which a farm's flock of sheep or cattle has become accustomed through generations of grazing.
"Generations of hardy mountain sheep have stayed within their traditional heft on the fells without the need for stone walls."
• verb
To lift or carry something heavy, or to raise an object in order to test or judge its weight.
"She hefted the packed suitcase onto the scale to make sure it was under the airline limit."
British To accustom a flock of sheep or cattle to remain within a specific unfenced area of upland pasture.
"The upland ewes are hefted to the high moorland and rarely stray into the neighboring valley."
• Rhymes for heft
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the 16th century, 'heft' was formed from the verb 'heave' by analogy with pairs such as 'weave/weft' and 'thieve/theft', tracing back to the Old English 'hebban' (to lift or raise).