heist

1 of 2

verb

ˈhīst 

heisted; heisting; heists

transitive verb

1

chiefly dialectal : hoist

2

a

: to commit armed robbery on

b

: steal sense 1a

heist

2 of 2

noun

: armed robbery : holdup

also : theft

Synonyms

Verb

• appropriate
• boost [slang]
• filch
• hook
• lift
• misappropriate
• nick [British slang]
• nip
• pilfer
• pinch
• pocket
• purloin
• rip off
• snitch
• steal
• swipe
• thieve

Noun

• grab
• pinch
• rip-off
• snatching
• swiping
• theft

Examples of heist in a Sentence

Verb

a professional burglar was able to heist a box of jewelry from the safe in the closet

Noun

it was the largest jewelry heist in the city's history

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

And Bannon got directly to business, spinning a tale to his viewers of Democrats plotting to heist the 2024 election. —Tess Owen, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2024

Nesbit scoffs at the proposal, citing the difficulties of heisting perhaps a metric tonne of nuclear material. —IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2024

Noun

Heat, co-starring Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight and Val Kilmer, is a cat-and-mouse actioner centering on an obsessive Los Angeles detective, played by Al Pacino, trying to track down and catch McCauley, whose crew is responsible for a series of brazen, high-stakes heists. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2024

Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Outlaws is a third-person action-adventure game featuring shootouts, heists, lockpicking, speeder races, gambling, and double-crosses. —Richard Newby, TIME, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

variant of hoist entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heist

noun

ˈhīst

: armed robbery

also : theft

Etymology

Noun

from a dialect variant of hoist "an act of hoisting"