HOIST

hoist

(noun) lifting device for raising heavy or cumbersome objects

hoist, lift, wind

(verb) raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; “hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car”

hoist, run up

(verb) raise; “hoist the flags”; “hoist a sail”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

hoist (third-person singular simple present hoists, present participle hoisting, simple past and past participle hoist or hoisted)

(transitive) To raise; to lift; to elevate (especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, said of a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight).

(transitive, sport, often, figurative) To lift a trophy or similar prize into the air in celebration of a victory.

(transitive, historical) To lift someone up to be flogged.

(intransitive) To be lifted up.

(transitive, comptheory) To extract (code) from a loop construct as part of optimization.

(transitive, slang) To steal, to rob.

Usage notes

• "Hoisted" is about fifteen times more common than "hoist" in US usage as past and past participle. The "hoist" form is also uncommon in the UK except in the expression "hoist by one's own petard".

Noun

hoist (plural hoists)

A hoisting device, such as pulley or crane.

The act of hoisting; a lift.

The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length, when flying from a staff.

The vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff.

The height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay.

Anagrams

• histo, histo-, hoits, shito

Source: Wiktionary


Hoist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hoisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Hoisting.] Etym: [OE. hoise, hyse, OD. hyssen, D. hijshen; akin to LG. hissen, Dan. hisse, Sw. hissa.]

Definition: To raise; to lift; to elevate; esp., to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle, as a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight. They land my goods, and hoist my flying sails. Pope. Hoisting him into his father's throne. South. Hoisting engine, a steam engine for operating a hoist.

Hoist, n.

1. That by which anything is hoisted; the apparatus for lifting goods.

2. The act of hoisting; a lift. [Collog.]

3. (fly, or horizontal length when flying from a staff. (b) The height of a fore-and-aft sail next the mast or stay. Totten. Hoist bridge, a drawbridge that is lifted instead of being swung or drawn aside.

Hoist, p. p.

Definition: Hoisted. [Obs.] 'Tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petar. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

9 May 2025

RIGHT

(noun) anything in accord with principles of justice; “he feels he is in the right”; “the rightfulness of his claim”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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