loft: Meaning and Definition of

loft

Pronunciation: (lôft, loft), [key]
— n.
  1. a room, storage area, or the like within a sloping roof; attic; garret.
  2. a gallery or upper level in a church, hall, etc., designed for a special purpose: a choir loft.
  3. a hayloft.
  4. an upper story of a business building, warehouse, or factory, typically consisting of open, unpartitioned floor area.
  5. such an upper story converted or adapted to any of various uses, as quarters for living, studios for artists or dancers, exhibition galleries, or theater space.
  6. Also calleda balcony or platform built over a living area and used esp. for sleeping.
  7. an attic.
    1. the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.
    2. the act of lofting.
    3. a lofting stroke.
  8. the resiliency of fabric or yarn, esp. wool.
  9. the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.
—v.t.
  1. to hit or throw aloft: He lofted a fly ball into center field.
    1. to slant the face of (a club).
    2. to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.
    3. to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.
  2. to store in a loft.
  3. to form or describe (the lines of a hull) at full size, as in a mold loft; lay off.
  4. to provide (a house, barn, etc.) with a loft.
—v.i.
  1. to hit or throw something aloft, esp. a ball.
  2. to go high into the air when hit, as a ball.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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