heave-ho

English

Alternative forms

• heave ho, heave-o

Etymology

From Middle English have howe.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌhiv ˈhoʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Interjection

heave-ho

1. An exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope.

   Synonym: yeave-ho

   • 1837, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “A Bell's Biography”, in The Snow Image and Other Twice Told Tales:

     Heave ho! up they hoisted their prize, dripping with moisture, and festooned with verdant water-moss.

Derived terms

• yo-heave-ho

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嗨喲／嗨哟 (zh) (hāiyō)

• Finnish: hiiop
• French: oh hisse (fr), ho hisse (fr)
• German: hau ruck (de)
• Greek: έγια μόλα (el) (égia móla)
• Italian: oh issa
• Japanese: オーエス (ōesu), よいしょ (yoisho), よいっしょ (yoissho), よっこいしょ (yokkoisho), よっこらしょ (yokkorasho), どっこいしょ (dokkoisho), どっこい (dokkoi), わっしょい (wasshoi), せえの, せーの (sēno), いっせえの, いっせーの (issēno), えっさっさ (essassa)
• Navajo: wóóʼmah
• Russian: раз-два́ (ru) (raz-dvá), ать-два́ (ru) (atʹ-dvá)

Noun

heave-ho (plural heave-hoes or heave-hos)

1. A cry of heave-ho.
2. (informal) A rejection; a forced removal.
   • 2002 August 8, Days of our Lives:

     Why would you think I'm still seeing Colin Murphy? I gave him the heave-ho, remember?

Derived terms

• to give someone the (old) heave-ho

Verb

heave-ho (third-person singular simple present heave-hoes, present participle heave-hoing, simple past and past participle heave-hoed)

1. (informal) To pull forcefully.

   Synonym: yeave-ho

   • 1840, Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast:

     They were heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting, and fishing, for three hours;