Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To raise or haul up, often with the help of a mechanical apparatus. synonym: lift.
  • intransitive verb To raise to one's mouth in order to drink.
  • intransitive verb To become raised or lifted.
  • noun An apparatus for lifting heavy or cumbersome objects.
  • noun The act of hoisting; a lift.
  • noun The height or vertical dimension of a flag or of any square sail other than a course.
  • noun A group of flags raised together as a signal.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To raise; lift; elevate; especially, to raise by means of block and tackle or other machinery.
  • noun Past participle of hoise, regularly hoised.
  • noun The act of hoisting; a lift.
  • noun That by which something is hoisted; a machine for raising ore, merchandise, passengers, etc., in a mine, warehouse, hotel, etc.; an elevator.
  • noun The perpendicular height of a flag or ensign, as opposed to the fly, or breadth from the staff to the outer edge; also, the extent to which a sail or yard may be hoisted: as, give the sail more hoist.
  • noun Nautical, a number of flags fastened together for hoisting as a signal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb 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.
  • transitive verb a steam engine for operating a hoist.
  • past participle obsolete Hoisted.
  • noun That by which anything is hoisted; the apparatus for lifting goods.
  • noun colloq. The act of hoisting; a lift.
  • noun The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length when flying from a staff.
  • noun The height of a fore-and-aft sail next the mast or stay.
  • noun a drawbridge that is lifted instead of being swung or drawn aside.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To raise; to lift; to elevate; especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, as a sail, a flag, a heavy package or weight.
  • verb transitive, historical To lift someone up to be flogged.
  • verb intransitive To be lifted up.
  • noun A hoisting device, such as pulley or crane.
  • noun The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length, when flying from a staff.
  • noun The vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff.
  • noun The height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun lifting device for raising heavy or cumbersome objects
  • verb raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
  • verb raise
  • verb move from one place to another by lifting

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of dialectal hoise, perhaps variant of Middle English hisse, heave!, possibly from Middle Dutch hissen, to haul.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Alteration of hoise, apparently based on the past tense and participle. Confer Danish hisse, German hissen, Italian issare (loaned from a Germanic source).

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Examples

Comments

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  • 1654 GAYTON Pleas. Notes IV. xxv. 286 He is upon his second hoyst into the Cart.

    May 18, 2008

  • Extensive discussion of this verb and its etymology/usage on the page for petard and hoise.

    September 7, 2008

  • A fun use of the word:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ymGtneijTA

    "hoist those skirts a little higher!"

    September 13, 2012