1 (raise, pick up) [+cover, box, head] levantar; [+phone, receiver] descolgar; coger; (Esp) [+child] tomar en brazos; coger en brazos; (Esp) alzar; [+invalid] mover this suitcase is too heavy for me to lift esta maleta pesa demasiado para que yo la levante
they knew how to lift great weights unaccustomed lifting of heavy weights strains the muscles she lifted the lid of the box and displayed the contents he lifted the sheet to reveal the dead man's face she lifted her skirt to reveal a black garter{ around her thigh} the Colonel lifted the phone and dialed his superior he couldn't lift her now; his arms hurt too much lifting her gently under the arms, he helped her into a sitting position you could hurt your back if you try to lift a heavy toddler Amy lifted her arm to wave goodbye He lifted his hand to ring the doorbell... She lifted her foot and squashed the wasp into the ground she lifted her head and smiled at him he tried to lift his head from the pillow {but he was too weak he lifts his foot from the accelerator the dog lifted its [leg] against a lamppost
he lifted his eyes and looked out of the window levantó or alzó la vista y miró por la ventana he lifted the bottle [from] the tray she lifted the kettle from the stove
the wind lifted the balloon into the air el viento se llevó el globo por los aires
he lifted the lid off the pan levantó la tapadera de la olla; destapó la olla
he lifted the child onto his knee alzó or cogió al niño y lo sentó en su rodilla; (Esp) he lifted his case onto the table he lifted the child onto the donkey's back we lifted him onto the stretcher and took him onto the ambulance to lift sb over sth
to lift sb's spirits levantar el ánimo a algn He used his incredible sense of humour to lift my spirits A brisk walk in the fresh air can lift your spirits and dissolve a winter depression
she lifted her glass to her lips se llevó el vaso a los labios
to lift weights (Dep) hacer or levantar pesas I've been lifting weights for a year now
she never lifts a finger to help no mueve un dedo para ayudar "lazy so-an-so," she thought, "he never lifts a finger when I'm not here On the way back home, the travel operator takes your bag to customs and then puts it on your homeward flight. You don't have to lift a finger
to lift the lid on sth destapar algo ...the Milan magistrate who first lifted the lid on the scandal ...a film lifting the lid on the Chappaquiddick scandal ...new book which claims to lift the lid on every KGB secret you could ever want to know
2 (remove) [+restrictions, sanctions] levantar Mr Bush said he'd never been enthusiastic about sanctions in the first place and would lift them They urged the United States to lift all controls on textile imports... He lifted the ban on the People's Party We must do everything possible to lift the siege of Sarajevo the state of emergency was [partially] lifted last June They want to lift the threshold at which extra interest is charged the bank lifted its basic home loans rate to 10.99% from 10.75% the sale of the factory lifted gross profits [to] 2,000,000 dollars they expect that this will lift the rate of inflation back to 13 per cent an operation to lift refugees from out of an area There is a restriction on the number of passengers foreign airlines /can lift from the island/ troops will be lifted [into] the region tomorrow The Apaches are designed to quickly lift soldiers and equipment to the battlefield The army lifted people off rooftops where they had climbed to escape the flooding.
3 (dig up) [+potatoes, carrots] recoger Lift carrots on a dry day and pack them horizontally in boxes of damp sand
4 (improve) mejorar they need to lift their game to win tienen que mejorar su juego si quieren ganar
something must be done to lift educational standards
5 (steal) [+goods, money] mangar (informal); birlar (informal); [+idea, quotation] copiar; plagiar the article was lifted from a newspaper el artículo fue copiado or plagiado de un periódico
Uncle Harold had lifted the morning's receipts... They break into steel filing cabinets, open cupboards, or lift a briefcase from a locked car or office most of the [article] was lifted from a newspaper
