loft

[ lawft, loft ]

noun

1. a room, storage area, or the like within a sloping roof; attic; garret.
2. a gallery or upper level in a church, hall, etc., designed for a special purpose:

   a choir loft.

3. a hayloft.
4. an upper story of a business building, warehouse, or factory, typically consisting of open, unpartitioned floor area.
5. such an upper story converted or adapted to any of various uses, as quarters for living, studios for artists or dancers, exhibition galleries, or theater space.
6. Also called loft bed. a balcony or platform built over a living area and used especially for sleeping.
7. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. an attic.
8. Golf.
   1. the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.
   2. the act of lofting.
   3. a lofting stroke.
9. the resiliency of fabric or yarn, especially wool.
10. the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.

verb (used with object)

1. to hit or throw aloft:

   He lofted a fly ball into center field.

2. Golf.
   1. to slant the face of (a club).
   2. to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.
   3. to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.
3. to store in a loft.
4. Shipbuilding. to form or describe (the lines of a hull) at full size, as in a mold loft; lay off.
5. Archaic. to provide (a house, barn, etc.) with a loft.

verb (used without object)

1. to hit or throw something aloft, especially a ball.
2. to go high into the air when hit, as a ball.

loft

/ lɒft /

noun

1. the space inside a roof
2. a gallery, esp one for the choir in a church
3. a room over a stable used to store hay
4. an upper storey of a warehouse or factory, esp when converted into living space
5. a raised house or coop in which pigeons are kept
6. sport
   1. (in golf) the angle from the vertical made by the club face to give elevation to a ball
   2. elevation imparted to a ball
   3. a lofting stroke or shot

verb

1. sport to strike or kick (a ball) high in the air
2. to store or place in a loft
3. to lay out a full-scale working drawing of (the lines of a vessel's hull)

Other Words From

• loftless adjective
• under·loft noun
• well-lofted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of loft¹

before 1000; Middle English lofte (noun), late Old English loft < Old Norse lopt upper chamber or region, the air, sky. See lift

Word History and Origins

Origin of loft¹

Late Old English, from Old Norse lopt air, ceiling; compare Old Danish and Old High German loft (German Luft air)

Example Sentences

She pays around $650 in rent for a spacious studio loft in a city that is both walkable yet big enough to have international art exhibitions, and where convenience stores are open all night.

From Los Angeles Times

Building work still to be completed includes raising the floor and converting an area of the loft into a bolthole, in case it floods again.

From BBC

They hosted legendary parties: people spoke of candle-lit soirees in giant Manhattan loft spaces, where awkward computer coders mixed with hipster models and figures from the “Dark Enlightenment” – people like the blogger Curtis Yarvin, who advocates a totalitarian future in which the world is ruled by corporate “monarchs”.

From BBC

The next day, I stopped by the “Praxis Embassy” – a giant loft space on Broadway.

From BBC

Jacobs broke through with his third feature, 2008’s “Momma’s Man,” which featured his actual parents, artist Flo Jacobs and avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs, in their Tribeca loft and there is something full-circle in seeing him return to a story so tied to family, aging and New York housing.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apartment
• studio