loft

UK: /ˈlɒft/ US: /lɔft, lɑft/ ,(lôft, loft)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

loft /lɔft, lɑft/   n. 

[countable]
1. an upper room or storage area beneath a sloping roof;
   attic;
   garret.
2. a gallery or upper level in a church, hall, etc., for a special purpose:
   a choir loft.
3. Architecture an upper story of a business building, warehouse, or factory, usually an open floor area.
4. Architecture such an upper story converted or adapted to any of various uses, as quarters for living or studios for artists or dancers.
5. Furniture Also called ˈloft ˌbed. a balcony or platform built over a living area and used for sleeping.

v. [~ + object]

6. to hit or throw aloft:
   He lofted a fly ball into center field.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

loft  (lôft, loft), 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. Agriculture 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 called loft′ bed′. a balcony or platform built over a living area and used esp. for sleeping.
7. Dialect Terms [Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.] an attic.
8. Sport [Golf.]
   • the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.
   • the act of lofting.
   • a lofting stroke.
9. Clothing the resiliency of fabric or yarn, esp. wool.
10. Clothing the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.

v.t. 

11. to hit or throw aloft:
    He lofted a fly ball into center field.
12. Sport [Golf.]
    • to slant the face of (a club).
    • to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.
    • to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.
13. to store in a loft.
14. Nautical, Naval Terms [Shipbuilding.] to form or describe (the lines of a hull) at full size, as in a mold loft;
    lay off.
15. [Archaic.] to provide (a house, barn, etc.) with a loft.

v.i. 

16. to hit or throw something aloft, esp. a ball.
17. to go high into the air when hit, as a ball.

• Old Norse lopt upper chamber or region, the air, sky. See lift
• Middle English lofte (noun, nominal), late Old English loft bef. 1000

loft′less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

loft / lɒft/ noun

1. the space inside a roof
2. a gallery, esp one for the choir in a church
3. a room over a stable used to store hay
4. an upper storey of a warehouse or factory, esp when converted into living space
5. a raised house or coop in which pigeons are kept
6. (in golf) the angle from the vertical made by the club face to give elevation to a ball
7. elevation imparted to a ball
8. a lofting stroke or shot

verb (transitive)

1. to strike or kick (a ball) high in the air
2. to store or place in a loft
3. to lay out a full-scale working drawing of (the lines of a vessel's hull)

Etymology: Late Old English, from Old Norse lopt air, ceiling; compare Old Danish and Old High German loft (German Luft air)