heist

1 of 2

verb

ˈhīst 

heisted; heisting; heists

transitive verb

1

chiefly dialectal : hoist

2

a

: to commit armed robbery on

b

: steal sense 1a

heist

2 of 2

noun

: armed robbery : holdup

also : theft

Synonyms

Verb

• appropriate
• boost [slang]
• filch
• hook
• lift
• misappropriate
• nick [British slang]
• nip
• pilfer
• pinch
• pocket
• purloin
• rip off
• snitch
• steal
• swipe
• thieve

Noun

• grab
• pinch
• rip-off
• snatching
• swiping
• theft

Examples of heist in a Sentence

Verb

a professional burglar was able to heist a box of jewelry from the safe in the closet

Noun

it was the largest jewelry heist in the city's history

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Big Nick and his boys have heisted a No. 1 opening. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 11 Jan. 2025

Officers got the call at about 4 p.m. on Saturday that someone had heisted the truck. —Caitlin McGlade, The Arizona Republic, 23 Dec. 2024

Noun

Swen Studios produced the film which follows a group of young teenagers who plan the perfect heist by breaking into their middle school to alter their failing test grades. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2025

While completely different in subject and tone—one is about a missing baby, the other about an ambitious heist—the Swedish TV series Snow Angels and the South African geopolitical police procedural Leo are engrossing enough to distract from whatever’s troubling you now. —Lisa Henricksson, airmail.news, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

variant of hoist entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heist

noun

ˈhīst

: armed robbery

also : theft

Etymology

Noun

from a dialect variant of hoist "an act of hoisting"