hoist

  1. 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.
  2. Verb.  (transitive, historical) To lift someone up to be flogged.
  3. Verb.  (intransitive) To be lifted up.
  4. Noun.  A hoisting device, such as pulley or crane.
  5. Noun.  The perpendicular height of a flag, as opposed to the fly, or horizontal length, when flying from a staff.
  6. Noun.  The vertical edge of a flag which is next to the staff.
  7. Noun.  The height of a fore-and-aft sail, next the mast or stay.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.