Elevator vs. Lift — What's the Difference?

In aviation, a control surface to manage an aircraft's pitch.

A platform or compartment for moving people between floors.

A type of shoe with an elevated heel to increase height.

A ride in someone's vehicle.

An elevator (North American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a type of cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such as a hoist, although some pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.

An upward force that counteracts the pull of gravity.

A platform or an enclosure raised and lowered in a vertical shaft to transport people or freight.

To direct or carry from a lower to a higher position; raise

The enclosure or platform with its operating equipment, motor, cables, and accessories.

To transport by air

A movable control surface, usually attached to the horizontal stabilizer of an aircraft, that is used to produce motion up or down.

To revoke by taking back; rescind

A mechanism, often with buckets or scoops attached to a conveyor, used for hoisting materials.

To bring an end to (a blockade or siege) by removing forces.

See grain elevator.

To cease (artillery fire) in an area.

Anything that raises or uplifts.

To raise in condition, rank, or esteem

A permanent construction with a built-in platform or cab that can be raised and lowered, used to transport people and goods, as between different floors of a building.

To uplift; elate

A silo used for storing wheat, corn or other grain (grain elevator).

To remove (plants) from the ground for transplanting.

(aeronautics) A control surface of an aircraft responsible for controlling the pitching motion of the machine.

To project or sound in loud, clear tones

A dental instrument used to pry up ("elevate") teeth in difficult extractions, or depressed portions of bone.

(Informal) To steal; pilfer

(anatomy) Any muscle that serves to raise a part of the body, such as the leg or the eye.

(Informal) To copy from something already published; plagiarize

A type of shoe having an insert lift to make the wearer appear taller.

To pay off or clear (a debt or mortgage, for example).

One who, or that which, raises or lifts up anything.

To perform cosmetic surgery on (the face, for example), especially in order to remove wrinkles or sagging skin.

A mechanical contrivance, usually an endless belt or chain with a series of scoops or buckets, for transferring grain to an upper loft for storage.

(Sports) To hit (a golf ball) very high into the air.

A cage or platform (called an elevator car) and the hoisting machinery in a hotel, warehouse, mine, etc., for conveying persons, goods, etc., to or from different floors or levels; - called in England a lift; the cage or platform itself.

To pick up (a golf ball) to place it in a better lie.

A building for elevating, storing, and discharging, grain.

To shoot or flip (a puck) so that it rises sharply off the ice.

A muscle which serves to raise a part of the body, as the leg or the eye.

To rise; ascend.

An instrument for raising a depressed portion of a bone.

To yield to upward pressure

A movable plane or group of planes used to control the altitude or fore-and-aft poise or inclination of an airship or flying machine.

To disappear or disperse by or as if by rising

Lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building

To stop temporarily

The airfoil on the tailplane of an aircraft that makes it ascend or descend

To become elevated; soar

A platform or compartment for moving people between floors in a building.

The act or process of rising or raising to a higher position.

A device for moving materials vertically.

Power or force available for raising

A surgical instrument to lift periosteum.

An organized effort or a flight transporting supplies or people by airplane; an airlift.

The extent or height to which something is raised or rises; the amount of elevation.

The distance or space through which something is raised or rises.

A rise or an elevation in the level of the ground.

An elevation of the spirits

A raised, high, or erect position, as of a part of the body

A machine or device designed to pick up, raise, or carry something.

One of the layers of leather, rubber, or other material making up the heel of a shoe.

Chiefly British A passenger or cargo elevator.

A ride in a vehicle given to help someone reach a destination

Assistance or help

A set of pumps used in a mine.

The component of the total aerodynamic force acting on an airfoil or on an entire aircraft or winged missile perpendicular to the relative wind and normally exerted in an upward direction, opposing the pull of gravity.

(ambitransitive) To raise or rise.

To steal.

To source directly without acknowledgement; to plagiarise.

To arrest (a person).

(transitive) To remove (a ban, restriction, etc.).

(transitive) To alleviate, to lighten (pressure, tension, stress, etc.)

(transitive) to cause to move upwards.

To lift weights; to weight-lift.

To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing.

To elevate or improve in rank, condition, etc.; often with up.

(obsolete) To bear; to support.

To collect, as moneys due; to raise.

(programming) To transform (a function) into a corresponding function in a different context.

(finance) To buy a security or other asset previously offered for sale.

To take (hounds) off the existing scent and move them to another spot.

An act of lifting or raising.

The act of transporting someone in a vehicle; a ride; a trip.

Mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building.

An upward force, such as the force that keeps aircraft aloft.

(measurement) The difference in elevation between the upper pool and lower pool of a waterway, separated by lock.

A thief.

(dance) The lifting of a dance partner into the air.

Permanent construction with a built-in platform that is lifted vertically.

(figurative) An improvement in mood.

The amount or weight to be lifted.

The space or distance through which anything is lifted.

A rise; a degree of elevation.

A liftgate.

(nautical) A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below, and used for raising or supporting the end of the yard.

(engineering) One of the steps of a cone pulley.

(shoemaking) A layer of leather in the heel of a shoe.

(horology) That portion of the vibration of a balance during which the impulse is given.

Air.

The sky; the heavens; firmament; atmosphere.

The sky; the atmosphere; the firmament.

Act of lifting; also, that which is lifted.

The space or distance through which anything is lifted; as, a long lift.

Help; assistance, as by lifting.

That by means of which a person or thing lifts or is lifted

A rise; a degree of elevation; as, the lift of a lock in canals.

A lift gate. See Lift gate, below.

A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below; - used for raising or supporting the end of the yard.

One of the steps of a cone pulley.

A layer of leather in the heel.

That portion of the vibration of a balance during which the impulse is given.

A brightening of the spirits; encouragement; as, the campaign workers got a lift from the President's endorsement.

To move in a direction opposite to that of gravitation; to raise; to elevate; to bring up from a lower place to a higher; to upheave; sometimes implying a continued support or holding in the higher place; - said of material things; as, to lift the foot or the hand; to lift a chair or a burden.

To raise, elevate, exalt, improve, in rank, condition, estimation, character, etc.; - often with up.

To bear; to support.

To collect, as moneys due; to raise.

To steal; to carry off by theft (esp. cattle); as, to lift a drove of cattle.

To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing.

To rise; to become or appear raised or elevated; as, the fog lifts; the land lifts to a ship approaching it.

To steal; also, to live by theft.

The act of giving temporary assistance

The component of the aerodynamic forces acting on an airfoil that opposes gravity

The event of something being raised upward;

A wave that lifts the surface of the water or ground

A powered conveyance that carries skiers up a hill

A device worn in a shoe or boot to make the wearer look taller or to correct a shortened leg

One of the layers forming the heel of a shoe or boot

Lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building

Plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face; an incision is made near the hair line and skin is pulled back and excess tissue is excised;

Transportation of people or goods by air (especially when other means of access are unavailable)

A ride in a car;

The act of raising something;

Raise from a lower to a higher position;

Take hold of something and move it to a different location;

Move upwards;

Move upward;

Make audible;

Annul by recalling or rescinding;

Make off with belongings of others

Raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help;

Invigorate or heighten;

Raise in rank or condition;

Take off or away by decreasing;

Rise up;

Pay off (a mortgage)

Take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property

Take illegally;

Fly people or goods to or from places not accessible by other means;

Take (root crops) out of the ground;

Call to stop the hunt or to retire, as of hunting dogs

Rise upward, as from pressure or moisture;

Put an end to;

Remove (hair) by scalping

Remove from a seedbed or from a nursery;

Remove from a surface;

Perform cosmetic surgery on someone's face

To move something from a lower to a higher position.

To formally remove or end a rule or restriction.

Yes, it's understood but "lift" is the prevalent term.

"Elevator" is predominantly used in American English.

Yes, "Lift" can also mean to physically raise something or to give someone a ride in a vehicle.

Yes, "Freight Elevator" is specifically designed to carry goods rather than people.

Yes, "lift" as a verb is common globally to mean raising something up.

Yes, both "Elevator" and "Lift" refer to a device that moves people or goods vertically within buildings.

In the UK, the common term is "Lift," so asking for an "Elevator" might not be immediately recognized.

No, technically they are the same, with differences primarily in American (elevator) and British (lift) English.

In British English, the term commonly used is "Lift."

A "Dumbwaiter" is a small lift or elevator used to convey food or goods between floors.

Modern elevators and lifts are typically powered by electric motors.

While their primary function is vertical movement, some modern designs can move both vertically and horizontally.

Modern elevators often have Braille buttons and voice announcements for those with visual impairments.

Yes, both elevators and lifts are subject to strict safety regulations and regular maintenance checks.

Typically, it's advised not to use elevators or lifts during fires due to potential hazards. Stairs are the recommended escape route.

Both elevators and lifts use a system of brakes and cables for safety to prevent free falls.

Yes, both can be installed in residential buildings, though they may differ in size and capacity.

The term "Lift" is older, with roots in Old Norse, while "Elevator" comes from Latin.