lift verb
1 raise/move sb/sth
ADV. almost, half Her hugged her, almost lifting her off the ground. | fractionally, a little, slightly | slowly | sharply Her head lifted sharply | carefully, gently, gingerly Carefully lift the cake off the tray and cool on a wire rack. | bodily She was lifted bodily aboard by two sailors. | back, down, out, up She lifted back the sheet.
VERB + LIFT can/could barely/hardly The box was so heavy I could barely lift it. | try to | manage to | be too heavy to
PREP. above He stood, legs apart, arms lifted above his head. | down She leaned on him and he half lifted her down the stairs. | from He felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. | into The heavy beams were lifted into place. | off She lifted the book up off the table. | out of He lifted the baby out of its cot. | over She lifted the child over the fence. | to Juliet nodded, lifting her face to David's.
2 remove a law/rule
ADV. completely | partially The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.
VERB + LIFT agree to, decide to, vote to The government decided to lift the ban on arms exports. | refuse to