"heave" means: To rise and fall.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
heave
(intransitive) To rise and fall.
Seen in the wild
4 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
when your stomach stirs from the grief you buried years ago, you will heave out the filth. you’ll make room for your heart again. and you will write about the birds. they will not be caged.
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BlueskyMay 2026
That’s some real Elaine Benes energy, like a full-body dry heave set to music.
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BlueskyMay 2026
Btw think that push on Trossard from Griezmann was too little too heave to be waved away so quickly
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BlueskyMay 2026
Good. Now they need to fire Abbott and Paxton too. Let's don't half-ass this heave-ho!
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Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK
(intransitive) To rise and fall.
For parents
"heave" means: To rise and fall.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
"heave" means: To rise and fall.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
(transitive) To lift with difficulty; to raise with some effort; to lift (a heavy thing).
We heaved the chest-of-drawers up to the second-floor landing.
Origin: From , hebben, from , from , from , from , from the root *kap-. See also have. Cognate with , ("to raise", "to lift"), ("to raise", "to lift"), ("to raise", "to lift"), , , prisoner, , , , handle). (To lift, to raise): Compare typologically , подня́ть (akin to има́ть, име́ть < , *jьměti). Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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UK
#3·Apr 27, 2026UK
(transitive) To throw, cast.
Heard in the wild
“when your stomach stirs from the grief you buried years ago, you will heave out the filth. you’ll make room for your heart again. and you will write about the birds. they will not be caged.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Good. Now they need to fire Abbott and Paxton too. Let's don't half-ass this heave-ho!”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Other words near "heave" (H)
heather-bleatHeath RobinsonHeathrow injectionheat indexheat stormheat waveHeavenheaven on a stickheavens aboveheavens to Betsyheavy breadheavy cream
Browse all slang words starting with H.