How to Use heave in a Sentence

heave

1 of 2 verb
  • She heaved the door shut.
  • The quarterback heaved the ball down the field.
  • She sat down and heaved a sigh of relief.
  • This ocean canyon heaves waves of shale and basalt, quartz and silt.
    — Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Others were heaved from their roots.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 15 Apr. 2026
  • If the plane heaves up, the spoilers can press it back down.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Play golf, try your hand at archery, or grab an axe and heave it at the target.
    — Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2021
  • The boat heaved back and forwards, and the wind moaned outside.
    — Laurie Hertzel, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • Sabonis snared the pass, twisted and heaved a shot to tie the game.
    — oregonlive, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Then as now, the days heave with smoke and apocalypse, the howl of sirens.
    — Jason Parham, Wired, 22 Sep. 2020
  • Flaming palm fronds heaved back and forth across the frame, and embers streaked the air.
    — Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Split any citrus, pop them in the device, then heave down on the lever to see the juice flow.
    — Brittney Morgan and Medgina Saint-Elien, House Beautiful, 25 July 2022
  • Hurts heaved his Hail Mary attempt a play later.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Bridges fielded a pass, spun around and heaved an errant 3-pointer.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 10 June 2026
  • City workers heave plastic bags and shake public trash cans into the back of trucks.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 11 Nov. 2021
  • Ramos, from his backside, heaved a throw to shortstop Willy Adames.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
  • With no other choice, Benjamin then heaved the ball into the end zone to no avail.
    — Michelle Gardner, azcentral, 18 Nov. 2019
  • The freeze-and-thaw cycle of late winter also can crack soil and heave shallow roots up.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 24 July 2022
  • There's no need to heave bagged clippings into a compost bin or scatter them over open soil.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The creation heaved salt in its early days, but the kitchen team has since found its way to balance with this one.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
  • The quarterback mishandles the snap and heaves the ball, which is picked off.
    — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 18 Oct. 2025
  • The children often spent days below deck in the dark, waiting out storms while the boat pitched and heaved.
    — Laurie Hertzel, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The windows stay black and phlegmatic as the air outside begins to heave with rain.
    — Colin Channer, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020
  • As people screamed, some jumped out of their seats and rushed to help, trying to heave wood and other debris aside.
    — Diana Durán, Washington Post, 26 June 2022
  • Smith caught an inbounds pass beyond the top of the key and heaved in a 28-footer to win the game.
    — Mark Inabinett | [email protected], al, 8 July 2023
  • With little chance of preventing a run, Duran heaved a throw to the plate.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
  • The Bernabeu was heaving, the fans were longing their team back into the game.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • And, in what is now Ecuador, there was a forest with a heaving ancient ecosystem.
    — Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Pinned beneath the beast, the bloody young officer heaves himself to his feet and carries on with the siege.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Nov. 2023
  • Contestants stood at one end and heaved the rats toward the other; the crowd pressed against the sidelines.
    — Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

heave

2 of 2 noun
  • He gave the rope a mighty heave.
  • We lifted the box onto the table with a heave.
  • The quarterback uncorked a mighty heave.
  • Boum got a half-court heave at the buzzer that clanked off the back iron.
    — Adam Baum, The Enquirer, 11 Feb. 2023
  • His heave from beyond half court was on target.
    — ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
  • The new legs reflect the need to deal with the pitch and heave of a barge landing.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Wilkins broke his world record on his first throw with a 229-0 heave.
    — Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 17 Apr. 2026
  • But his three-pointer heave in the final seconds did not land.
    — Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2021
  • Cleveland, a freshman, had just enough time to catch, turn and get off a long-range heave.
    — Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2022
  • Then the workers gave a giant heave and released the swing.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Then, either a heave, or some scurrying around and then a heave.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The Wolverines' full-court heave at the buzzer went over the backboard.
    — San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Naithan George's 3-point heave from midcourt hit the back of the rim to end it.
    — ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
  • But the next great clip might not come from a bracket-busting upset or a half-court heave.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Zubac’s lone 3 was also a novelty shot, but not a half-court heave.
    — Joe Vardon, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Killer Mike pauses for a second as his chest heaves slightly.
    — Khari Nixon, SPIN, 6 June 2023
  • But Aneesah Morrow's heave from halfcourt was short at the buzzer.
    — ABC News, 18 May 2026
  • Whiteland fouled once before Davis fired a halfcourt heave that missed.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 10 Jan. 2024
  • The Cougars had one last chance, but a halfcourt heave by Bamgboye was off the mark.
    — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, 2 Mar. 2022
  • After the ball twice went out of bounds, Portage missed a heave from midcourt as time expired.
    — Michael Osipoff, chicagotribune.com, 8 Jan. 2022
  • Before any off-platform throws, highlight-reel heaves or game-winning drives.
    — Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Brown went up to catch the 39-yard heave and won a battle for the ball with Fitzpatrick.
    — Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022
  • Houston’s last chance, fittingly, was a half-court heave from Brooks that would’ve stolen the game.
    — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
  • Harper missed a halfcourt heave, sending the game to a second overtime.
    — Chris Iseman, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2022
  • For investors, that means buckling down and readying for the heave-ho of stormy seas and mixed returns for a few months yet.
    — Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Denver's Aaron Gordon missed a 61-foot heave at the buzzer.
    — ABC News, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Amazingly, the lead was cut to one on the Lakhin heave but the clock showed under a second to play.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 26 Feb. 2023
  • When forced to choose between a wine cellar or a butler’s pantry, most yacht owners are likely to give the linen the heave-ho.
    — Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2021
  • The Knights could only manage a hopeless heave from well beyond halfcourt at the buzzer.
    — Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
  • After some trading of free throws, Haliburton had a chance to tie the game, but missed a half-court heave to do it.
    — Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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