loft

—loftless, adj.

/lawft, 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. 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. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. an attic.

8. Golf.

a. the slope of the face of the head of a club backward from the vertical, tending to drive the ball upward.

b. the act of lofting.

c. a lofting stroke.

9. the resiliency of fabric or yarn, esp. wool.

10. 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. Golf.

a. to slant the face of (a club).

b. to hit (a golf ball) into the air or over an obstacle.

c. to clear (an obstacle) in this manner.

13. to store in a loft.

14. 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.

[bef. 1000; ME lofte (n.), late OE loft < ON lopt upper chamber or region, the air, sky. See LIFT]

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Upper space within a building, often open on one side, used for storage or other purposes (e.g., sleeping loft, hayloft).

The term also refers to one of the upper floors in a factory or warehouse, typically undivided by partitions and now often converted to other uses, such as residences or artists' studios. In churches the rood loft is a display gallery above the rood screen (see cathedral), and a choir or organ loft is a gallery reserved for church singers and musicians. In theaters, the loft is the area above and behind the proscenium.

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▪ architecture

      in architecture, upper space within a building, or a large undivided space in a building used principally for storage in business or industry. In churches the rood loft is a display gallery above the rood screen, and a choir or organ loft is a gallery reserved for church singers and musicians. In theatres a loft is the area above and behind the proscenium.

      In comparison with an attic, a loft is usually opened on one side, similar to a balcony, as with a hayloft—the space under the roof of a barn. Sleeping lofts are often constructed in smaller dwellings to give more space. In many modern cities where living space is at a premium, industrial lofts are converted into residences, with tenants subdividing the open area to fit their needs.

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