heave to
verb
heaved to; heaving to; heaves to
: to halt the headway of a ship (as by positioning a sailboat with the jib aback and the rudder turned sharply to windward)
Examples of heave to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Then Otega Oweh, Kentucky's star player, made a halfcourt heave to send this game to overtime, tied 73-73.
—
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
That’s especially the case considering Trevor Mullin’s last-ditch heave to win the game hit off the back rim on the other side of the court to confirm overtime was needed for these two rivals.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Mar. 2026
Scoring 24 against Troy, including a halfcourt heave to force overtime, then five in a 40-point loss against Michigan.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
That’s especially the case considering Trevor Mullin’s last-ditch heave to win the game hit off the back rim on the other side of the court to confirm overtime was needed for these two rivals.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Mar. 2026
Scoring 24 against Troy, including a halfcourt heave to force overtime, then five in a 40-point loss against Michigan.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heave to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heave%20to. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
