Heave-ho

Pronunciation

• Canada IPA: /ËŒhiːvˈhoÊŠ/

Alternative forms

• heave ho

Full definition of heave-ho

Interjection

1. exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope
• 1837, Nathaniel Hawthorne, "A Bell's Biography", The Snow Image and Other Twice Told TalesHeave ho! up they hoisted their prize, dripping with moisture, and festooned with verdant water-moss.

Related terms

• yo-heave-ho

Noun

1. A cry of heave-ho.He gives the wrestler the old heave-ho, but he's got not enough heave and too much ho!
2. (informal) A rejection, a forced removal (often in the phrase give/get the (old) heave-ho)
• 2002, Days of our Lives (TV, August 8)Why would you think I'm still seeing Colin Murphy? I gave him the heave-ho, remember?

Verb

1. (informal) to pull forcefully
• 1840, Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the MastThey were heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting, and fishing, for three hours;

Derived terms

• to give someone the (old) heave-ho