Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

heft

American  
[heft] / hɛft /

noun

  1. weight; heaviness.

    It was a rather flimsy chair, without much heft to it.

  2. significance or importance.

  3. Archaic. the bulk or main part.

verb (used with object)

  1. to test the weight of by lifting and balancing.

    He hefted the spear for a few moments, and then flung it at the foe.

  2. to heave; hoist.

heft British  
/ hɛft /

verb

  1. to assess the weight of (something) by lifting

  2. to lift

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. weight

  2. the main part

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • hefter noun
  • unhefted adjective

Etymology

Origin of heft

1550–60; heave + -t, variant of -th 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Here, Washington is targeting China, which despite its economic heft is classified as a developing country at the WTO.

From Barron's

UBS took over Credit Suisse with government backing, giving it more heft globally but making it a behemoth in its home country.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet, by one important measure, China’s global heft is shrinking.

From The Wall Street Journal

I picked it up, hefted it, turned it over and over.

From Literature

It weighed about half a ton, but Glenn needed very little help from me to heft it all the way into the schoolhouse.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.