Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Heave \Heave\, v. t. [imp. {Heaved}, or {Hove}; p. p. {Heaved},
   {Hove}, formerly {Hoven}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Heaving}.] [OE.
   heven, hebben, As. hebban; akin to OS. hebbian, D. heffen,
   OHG. heffan, hevan, G. heven, Icel. h["a]fva, Dan. h[ae]ve,
   Goth. hafjan, L. capere to take, seize; cf. Gr. ? handle. Cf.
   {Accept}, {Behoof}, {Capacious}, {Forceps}, {haft},
   {Receipt}.]
   1. To cause to move upward or onward by a lifting effort; to
      lift; to raise; to hoist; -- often with up; as, the wave
      heaved the boat on land.

            One heaved ahigh, to be hurled down below. --Shak.

   Note: Heave, as now used, implies that the thing raised is
         heavy or hard to move; but formerly it was used in a
         less restricted sense.

               Here a little child I stand, Heaving up my either
               hand.                              --Herrick.

   2. To throw; to cast; -- obsolete, provincial, or colloquial,
      except in certain nautical phrases; as, to heave the lead;
      to heave the log.

   3. To force from, or into, any position; to cause to move;
      also, to throw off; -- mostly used in certain nautical
      phrases; as, to heave the ship ahead.

   4. To raise or force from the breast; to utter with effort;
      as, to heave a sigh.

            The wretched animal heaved forth such groans.
                                                  --Shak.

   5. To cause to swell or rise, as the breast or bosom.

            The glittering, finny swarms That heave our friths,
            and crowd upon our shores.            --Thomson.

   {To heave a cable short} (Naut.), to haul in cable till the
      ship is almost perpendicularly above the anchor.

   {To heave a ship ahead} (Naut.), to warp her ahead when not
      under sail, as by means of cables.

   {To heave a ship down} (Naut.), to throw or lay her down on
      one side; to careen her.

   {To heave a ship to} (Naut.), to bring the ship's head to the
      wind, and stop her motion.

   {To heave about} (Naut.), to put about suddenly.

   {To heave in} (Naut.), to shorten (cable).

   {To heave in stays} (Naut.), to put a vessel on the other
      tack.

   {To heave out a sail} (Naut.), to unfurl it.

   {To heave taut} (Naut.), to turn a

Heave \Heave\, n.
   1. An effort to raise something, as a weight, or one's self,
      or to move something heavy.

            After many strains and heaves He got up to his
            saddle eaves.                         --Hudibras.

   2. An upward motion; a rising; a swell or distention, as of
      the breast in difficult breathing, of the waves, of the
      earth in an earthquake, and the like.

            There's matter in these sighs, these profound
            heaves, You must translate.           --Shak.

            None could guess whether the next heave of the
            earthquake would settle . . . or swallow them.
                                                  --Dryden.

   3. (Geol.) A horizontal dislocation in a metallic lode,
      taking place at an intersection with another lode.

Heave \Heave\ (h[=e]v), v. i.
   1. To be thrown up or raised; to rise upward, as a tower or
      mound.

            And the huge columns heave into the sky. --Pope.

            Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap.
                                                  --Gray.

            The heaving sods of Bunker Hill.      --E. Everett.

   2. To rise and fall with alternate motions, as the lungs in
      heavy breathing, as waves in a heavy sea, as ships on the
      billows, as the earth when broken up by frost, etc.; to
      swell; to dilate; to expand; to distend; hence, to labor;
      to struggle.

            Frequent for breath his panting bosom heaves.
                                                  --Prior.

            The heaving plain of ocean.           --Byron.

   3. To make an effort to raise, throw, or move anything; to
      strain to do something difficult.

            The Church of England had struggled and heaved at a
            reformation ever since Wyclif's days. --Atterbury.

   4. To make an effort to vomit; to retch; to vomit.

   {To heave at}.
      (a) To make an effort at.
      (b) To attack, to oppose. [Obs.] --Fuller.

   {To heave in sight} (as a ship at sea), to come in sight; to
      appear.

   {To heave up}, to vomit. [Low]

Source : WordNet®

heave
     n 1: an upward movement (especially a rhythmical rising and
          falling); "the heaving of waves on a rough sea" [syn: {heaving}]
     2: (geology) a horizontal dislocation
     3: the act of lifting something with great effort [syn: {heaving}]
     4: an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting; "a bad case of
        the heaves" [syn: {retch}]
     5: the act of raising something; "he responded with a lift of
        his eyebrow"; "fireman learn several different raises for
        getting ladders up" [syn: {lift}, {raise}]
     6: throwing something heavy (with great effort); "he gave it a
        mighty heave"; "he was not good at heaving passes" [syn: {heaving}]
     [also: {hove}]

heave
     v 1: utter a sound, as with obvious effort; "She heaved a deep
          sigh when she saw the list of things to do"
     2: throw with great effort
     3: rise and move, as in waves or billows; "The army surged
        forward" [syn: {billow}, {surge}]
     4: lift or elevate [syn: {heave up}, {heft}, {heft up}]
     5: nautical: to move or cause to move in a specified way,
        direction, or position; "The vessel hove into sight"
     6: breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted; "The runners
        reached the finish line, panting heavily" [syn: {pant}, {puff},
         {gasp}]
     7: bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat; "The
        highway buckled during the heatwave" [syn: {buckle}, {warp}]
     8: make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit [syn:
        {gag}, {retch}]
     [also: {hove}]