heart

¹heart

noun \ˈhärt\

Definition of HEART

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

b : a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate heart

c : breast, bosom

d : something resembling a heart in shape; specifically : a stylized representation of a heart

2

a : a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a red heart

b plural : the suit comprising cards marked with hearts

c plural but sing or plural in constr : a game in which the object is to avoid taking tricks containing hearts

3

a : personality, disposition <a cold heart>

b obsolete : intellect

4

: the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature: as

a : generous disposition : compassion <a leader with heart>

b : love, affection <won her heart>

c : courage, ardor <never lost heart>

5

: one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations <knew it in his heart> <a man after my own heart>

6

a : the central or innermost part : center

b : the essential or most vital part of something

c : the younger central compact part of a leafy rosette (as a head of lettuce)

— at heart

: in essence : basically, essentially

— by heart

: by rote or from memory

— to heart

: with deep concern

Examples of HEART

1. I could feel my heart pounding.
2. He has a bad heart.
3. He put his hand on his heart.
4. When she heard the news, her heart filled with joy.
5. She just couldn't find it in her heart to forgive them.
6. I felt in my heart that our relationship was never meant to be.
7. a ruler without a heart
8. Have a heart! Can't you see he needs help?

Illustration of HEART

Origin of HEART

Middle English hert, from Old English heorte; akin to Old High German herza heart, Latin cord-, cor, Greek kardia

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to HEART

Synonyms

bigheartedness, charity, commiseration, compassion, feeling, good-heartedness, humanity, kindheartedness, kindliness, kindness, largeheartedness, mercy, pity, ruth, softheartedness, sympathy, warmheartedness

Antonyms

coldheartedness, hard-heartedness, inhumanity, inhumanness, mercilessness, pitilessness

Related Words

feelings, responsiveness, sensibility, sensitivity; affection, love, regard; affinity, empathy, rapport; altruism, benevolence, benignancy, benignity, generosity, goodwill, humaneness, humanism, humanitarianism, philanthropy

Near Antonyms

callousness, coldness, disinterest, indifference, unconcern; cruelty, harshness; animosity, antipathy, dislike, hatred, hostility

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

Rhymes with HEART

art, cart, chart, Chartres, dart, fart, hart, Harte, kart, mart, part, smart, start, tart

²heart

transitive verb

Definition of HEART

1

archaic : hearten

2

archaic : to fix in the heart

First Known Use of HEART

before 12th century

heart

noun \ˈhärt\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of HEART

1

: 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

Illustration of HEART

heart

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Structure of the human heart. Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs enters the heart through the …—© Merriam-Webster Inc.

Organ that pumps blood, circulating it to all parts of the body (see circulation). The human heart is a four-chambered double pump with its right and left sides fully separated by a septum and subdivided on both sides into an atrium above and a ventricle below. The right atrium receives venous blood from the superior and inferior venae cavae (see vena cava) and propels it into the pulmonary circulation. The left atrium takes in blood from the pulmonary veins and sends it into the systemic circulation. Electrical signals from a natural pacemaker cause the heart muscle to contract. Valves in the heart keep blood flowing in one direction. Their snapping shut after each contraction causes the sounds heard as the heartbeat. See also cardiovascular system.