Meaning & use
lifter
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Meanings
nouncountablesport
A person who raises heavy weights, either as a sport or as part of a training routine.
Grammar: Often found in compounds such as weightlifter or powerlifter.
Patterns
- a lifter of something
- a competitive lifter
The young lifter set a personal record at Saturday's meet.
Every lifter at the gym wipes down the bench after use.
She trained for years to become an Olympic lifter.
nouncountabletechnical
A device or machine that raises things, such as a hoist, or a small part in an engine that lifts a valve.
Grammar: Often the second element in a compound: a valve lifter or a tool lifter.
Patterns
- a lifter for something
- a valve lifter
The mechanic replaced a noisy lifter in the engine.
A hydraulic lifter raised the crates onto the truck.
The workshop bought a new lifter for moving heavy tires.
Word forms
| plural | lifters |
|---|
Common combinations
- weight lifter
- The weight lifter chalked her hands before approaching the bar.
- powerlifter
- The powerlifter squatted more than three times his own body weight.
- valve lifter
- A faulty valve lifter can make an engine tick loudly.
- hydraulic lifter
- The garage used a hydraulic lifter to raise the van.
- serious lifter
- Serious lifters usually follow a strict training plan.
- mood lifter
- Her sunny kitchen is a real mood lifter on gloomy days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weightlifter
- Weightlifter is the full form and refers only to people, while lifter is a shorter word that can also mean a machine.
- hoist
- Hoist names a machine that raises loads with ropes or chains, so it fits a mechanical lifter but never a person.
- jack
- A jack is a tool for raising a vehicle a short distance, whereas lifter is a broader, less specific word.
- elevator
- Elevator is a device that raises people or goods between floors, and sounds more like a fixed part of a building than lifter does.
Word family
- lift verb
- to raise something to a higher position
- lifting noun
- the act of raising heavy things, especially as exercise
- shoplifter noun
- someone who steals goods from a shop
- weightlifting noun
- the sport of raising heavy barbells
Commonly confused: lifter or liftoff?
lifter vs liftoff
Liftoff is the moment a rocket leaves the ground. A lifter is the person or machine doing the raising.
Practice
A gym owner says, 'Our lifters need extra chalk this week.' Who are the lifters?
Choose one answer.
At a gym, lifters are people who raise heavy weights, and they use chalk for grip. The other groups are not lifters in this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lifter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.