dead lift

noun

1. a direct lifting without any mechanical assistance.
2. a situation that requires all one's strength or ingenuity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead lift¹

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

If you want to do bench presses, dead lifts and curls but don’t have space or the budget for barbells, consider using exercise bands, like the ones physical therapists often use.

From Seattle Times

First, they replaced eccentric exercises such as back squats, which promote muscle growth, with concentric ones such as trap bar dead lifts.

From Washington Post

This awareness, in turn, can help exercisers develop a sense of their body’s ability and prepare them for “bigger, more complex movements,” like dead lifts or squats, he said.

From New York Times

Those six are a dead lift, power throw, pushups, plank, run and a combination sprint/drag/carry.

From Seattle Times

“But then two months go by, and these women decide they want to climb a rope or dead lift their body weight.”

From New York Times