Illustration of heart
- 1 aorta
- 2 pulmonary artery
- 3 left atrium
- 4 left ventricle
- 5 right ventricle
- 6 right atrium
plural hearts
1
a
: a hollow muscular organ of vertebrate animals that by its rhythmic contraction acts as a force pump maintaining the circulation of the blood
could feel her heart pounding
b
: a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate heart
d
: something resembling a heart in shape
specifically
: a stylized representation of a heart
a card decorated with hearts and flowers
2
a
: a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a red heart
b
hearts plural
: the suit comprising cards marked with hearts
the five of hearts
c
hearts plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a game in which the object is to avoid taking tricks (see trick entry 1 sense 4) containing hearts
3
a
: personality, disposition
a cold heart
b
obsolete
: intellect
4
: the emotional or moral nature as distinguished from the intellectual nature: such as
a
: generous disposition : compassion
a leader with heart
c
: courage or enthusiasm especially when maintained during a difficult situation
never lost heart
see also take heart
5
: one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations
knew it in his heart
a man after my own heart
hearted; hearting; hearts
1
informal
a
: love entry 2
Jane hearts John.
I loathe beer. But I heart beer commercials …—
Rochell D. Thomas
Rochell D. Thomas
b
: to like (see like entry 1 sense 4) an online post, comment, etc., especially by clicking or tapping a heart-shaped symbol
The tweet still hits home so much, not just for us, but for the 2.6 million that hearted her tweet too.—The Edge (Auckland, New Zealand)
The Edge (Auckland, New Zealand)2
archaic
: hearten
3
archaic
: to fix in the heart
Examples of heart in a Sentence
Noun
I could feel my heart pounding.
He has a bad heart.
He put his hand on his heart.
When she heard the news, her heart filled with joy.
She just couldn't find it in her heart to forgive them.
I felt in my heart that our relationship was never meant to be.
a ruler without a heart
Have a heart! Can't you see he needs help?
Recent Examples on the Web
Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
And in a few moments the room is filled with the faint whooshing sound of a small heart beating.
—Katia Riddle, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025
Full-bodied, able to quickly fill a large room, and enclosed in a (literal) house of glass that’s been dolled up with Aeoniumsky’s heart-warming illustrations, each one is a delight that will make cozy season even cozier.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heart
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Portofino held a special place in Taylor's heart—Burton first proposed to her there.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
And in a few moments the room is filled with the faint whooshing sound of a small heart beating.
—Katia Riddle, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025
Full-bodied, able to quickly fill a large room, and enclosed in a (literal) house of glass that’s been dolled up with Aeoniumsky’s heart-warming illustrations, each one is a delight that will make cozy season even cozier.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heart
Cite this Entry
“Heart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
heart
noun1
: a hollow muscular organ of vertebrate animals that by its rhythmic contraction acts as a force pump maintaining the circulation of the blood and that in the human adult is about five inches (13 centimeters) long and three and one half inches (9 centimeters) broad, is of conical form, is placed obliquely in the chest with the broad end upward and to the right and the apex opposite the interval between the cartilages of the fifth and sixth ribs on the left side, is enclosed in a serous pericardium, and consists as in other mammals and in birds of four chambers divided into an upper pair of rather thin-walled atria which receive blood from the veins and a lower pair of thick-walled ventricles into which the blood is forced and which in turn pump it into the arteries
2
: a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate heart
Geographical Definition
Heart
geographical name
river in southwestern North Dakota flowing 200 miles (320 kilometers) east into the Missouri River opposite Bismarck
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