lift

I UK [lɪft] / US verb
Word forms "lift":
present tense I/you/we/they lift he/she/it lifts present participle lifting past tense lifted past participle lifted
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1) lift or lift up

[transitive] to move something to a higher position

Lift the lid and look inside the box.

The phone rang and he lifted the receiver immediately.

a) [transitive] to take something in your hands and move it from one place to another

lift something off/onto/from etc:

We lifted the new books onto a shelf.

b) [intransitive] to move to a higher position

We watched the balloon lift slowly into the air.

c) [transitive] to move your head or eyes upwards so that you can look at something

lift something from something:

He lifted his eyes from the newspaper as Kate walked into the room.

lift something to something:

Ruth lifted her face to the sun.

d) [intransitive/transitive] to move a part of your body to a higher position

Her shoulders lifted slightly but she didn't say anything.

Lie on the floor and try to lift your legs slowly.

2) [transitive] to improve the situation that someone or something is in

lift someone out of something:

economic measures designed to lift the country out of recession

3) [transitive, often passive] to officially end a rule or law that stopped someone from doing something

They're hoping to get the ban lifted by the end of the month.

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Collocations:
Nouns frequently used as objects of lift
▪  ban, blockade, curfew, embargo, restriction, sanction

4) [intransitive] if a bad mood or bad feeling lifts, you start to feel happier

a) [transitive] to make someone feel happier

She was lifted a little by the news that they had phoned.

lift someone's spirits:

Being in the sunshine all day really lifted my spirits.

b) [intransitive/transitive] if a weight or burden lifts or is lifted from you, you stop worrying about something and feel happier

I felt as if a great financial burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

5) [intransitive] if something such as cloud or fog lifts, the weather improves and you can see clearly again

6)

a) [transitive] informal to steal something

I watched him lift a couple of CDs and stuff them into his jacket.

b) if you lift someone else's words or ideas, you use them and pretend that they are yours

7) [transitive] to cause the amount or level of something to increase

An increase in interest rates will lift the value of the dollar.

8) [transitive] to dig vegetables or other plants out of the ground

9) lift or lift up

[intransitive/transitive] formal if your voice lifts, or if you lift it, you start to talk more loudly

10) [transitive] to airlift something or someone

The two men have been lifted to safety.

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- not lift a finger

Phrasal verbs:

- lift off

- lift up

II UK [lɪft] / US noun
Word forms "lift":
singular lift plural lifts
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1) [countable] an occasion when someone takes you somewhere in their car. The American word is ride

give someone a lift:

I can give you a lift into town.

2) [countable] British a machine that carries people up or down between different levels of a tall building. The American word is elevator

take the lift:

Do you want to take the lift or use the stairs?

3) [countable] a movement in which something is lifted

a slight lift of the shoulders

4) [singular] informal if something gives you a lift, or if you get a lift from it, it makes you feel happier

5) [uncountable] physics the force that makes an aircraft leave the ground and stay in the air