lift

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
lift/lɪft/

▶verb

• 1 raise or be raised to a higher position or level.

  ■ raise (someone's spirits or confidence).

• 2 pick up and move to a different position.

  ■ transport by air.

  ■ (lift off) (of an aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) take off, especially vertically.

  ■ dig up (root vegetables or plants).

• 3 formally remove or end (a legal restriction, ban, etc.).

• 4 carry off or win (a prize or event).

  ■ informal steal.

▶noun

• 1 Brit. a platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things.

  ■ a device for carrying people up or down a mountain.

• 2 an act or instance of lifting.

  ■ upward force exerted by the air on an aerofoil or other structure, counteracting gravity.

  ■ the maximum weight that an aircraft can raise.

• 3 a free ride in another person's vehicle.

• 4 a feeling of confidence or cheerfulness.

• 5 a built-up heel or device in a boot or shoe.

– phrases
lift a finger (or hand) [usu. with neg.] make the slightest effort.

– derivatives
liftable adjective,
lifter noun.

– origin ME: from ON lypta, of Gmc origin; rel. to loft.