heart

\ ˈhärt

Definition of heart

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : 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

c : breast, bosom placed his hand on his heart

d : something resembling a heart in shape specifically : a stylized representation of a heart a card decorated with hearts and flowers

2a : 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

3a : 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

b : love, affection won her heart

c : courage or enthusiasm especially when maintained during a difficult situation never lost heart

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

6a : the central or innermost part : center a cabin in the heart of the forest

b : the essential or most vital part of something the heart of the city get to the heart of the matter

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

at heart

: in essence : basically, essentially a romantic at heart

by heart

: by rote or from memory knows the poem by heart

to heart

: with deep concern took the criticism to heart

heart

verb

hearted; hearting; hearts

Definition of heart (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 informal

a : love entry 2 Jane hearts John. I loathe beer. But I heart beer commercials …— 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)

2 archaic : hearten

3 archaic : to fix in the heart

Heart

geographical name

\ ˈhärt

Definition of Heart (Entry 3 of 3)

river in southwestern North Dakota flowing 200 miles (320 kilometers) east into the Missouri River opposite Bismarck

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about heart

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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: Noun Some patients' lungs fill with hundreds of microclots, autopsies have shown, and larger clots can break off and travel to the brain or heart, causing a stroke or heart attack. — Anchorage Daily News, "CDC confirms six new coronavirus symptoms that are showing up in patients over and over," 28 Apr. 2020 The Swiss drugmaker has paused new enrollment in a large U.K. clinical trial called Orion-4 that’s evaluating the experimental heart drug inclisiran, Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan said in a Bloomberg Television interview. — Bloomberg.com, "U.S. to Boost Testing; Spain, France to Ease Curbs: Virus Update," 28 Apr. 2020 The hospital instead bought handheld ultrasound machines to allow doctors to examine quickly whether fluid is in the lungs or how the heart is functioning. — Emily Bamforth, cleveland, "A day on the coronavirus floor with MetroHealth doctors and nurses (photos)," 28 Apr. 2020 For example, some congenital heart defects cause circulation to bypass the lungs, meaning the blood is poorly oxygenated. — Fox News, "'Silent hypoxia' may be killing COVID-19 patients, but there's hope," 28 Apr. 2020 But her life-of-the-party spirit and big heart more than made up for it. — Madeline Mitchell, Cincinnati.com, "Lives remembered: Cincinnati philanthropist and 'life of the party' Adele Schiff dies at 92," 28 Apr. 2020 Keep in mind some of these objects are not for the faint of heart, so take a peek at your own risk. — Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, "Museums Around the World Are Sharing Their Creepiest Objects on Twitter," 28 Apr. 2020 Doctors have also found damage in some patients to the kidneys, the heart, the nervous system, and intestines. — Damon Linker, TheWeek, "American optimism is becoming a problem," 27 Apr. 2020 A few hours later, those cow hearts turned out to be pretty delicious. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, "This Peruvian Cookbook Is the Next Best Thing to a Trip to Peru," 27 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heart.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for heart

heart

noun

English Language Learners Definition of heart

: the organ in your chest that pumps blood through your veins and arteries

: the front part of your chest

: the heart thought of as the place where emotions are felt

See the full definition for heart in the English Language Learners Dictionary

heart

noun

\ ˈhärt

Kids Definition of heart

1 : a hollow muscular organ of the body that expands and contracts to move blood through the arteries and veins

2 : something shaped like a heart a Valentine's heart

3 : a part near the center or deep into the interior They reached the heart of the desert.

4 : the most essential part That's the heart of the problem.

5 : human feelings Speak from your heart.

6 : courage or enthusiasm I don't have the heart to tell them what happened.

by heart

: so as to be able to repeat from memory I think I'm going to learn his new phone number by heart.— Paula Danziger, Amber Brown

heart

noun

\ ˈhärt

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

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