heart

noun

\ 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 diffiicult 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

These learned essays, heaving with historical and literary references, are not for the faint of heart. — Laura Auricchio, WSJ, "‘The Republic of Letters’ Review: A Network of Open Minds," 25 Dec. 2018 Offset staged an apparent attempt at reconciliation during Cardi B’s performance at the Rolling Loud concert in Los Angeles on Saturday night, and accidentally illustrated once and for all the importance of privacy in all matters of the heart. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Offset Begs Cardi B to Take Him Back— By Crashing Her Concert," 16 Dec. 2018 For 30 seconds, the electrical activity of your heart will draw a red trace across the watch's screen. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "A look at the Apple Watch’s ECG, from someone who needs it," 12 Dec. 2018 But excessive caution is discouraged: Not long after, players need to build enough speed to leap across the pool of molten lava at the mountain’s heart. — Leif Johnson, PCWorld, "Check out this exclusive look at Guild Wars 2's jaw-dropping Infernal Leap roller beetle track," 26 Nov. 2018 Getting into the complicated wristwatch game is not for the faint of heart. — Cara Barrett, Town & Country, "The Newest Trend in Serious Watch Collecting? Women," 21 Sep. 2018 To some critics, by celebrating the lives of only very rich and very beautiful Asian people, the movie failed to really capture the beating heart of Asian and Asian-American people. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Crazy Rich Asians’ crazy rich success could mean more stories about less crazy rich Asian-American people.," 21 Dec. 2018 To be sure, the spooky tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s Christmas-eve visitation by a tag team of spirits from the great beyond appears at first blush to be a thoroughly Christian parable of the power of grace to melt the hearts of men. — Terry Teachout, WSJ, "How the Movies Invented Christmas," 20 Dec. 2018 In what's truly a gift for fans of movies that are cheesy and sweet, Netflix unveiled A Christmas Prince — an unintentionally hilarious tale that stole the hearts of social media. — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, "Christmas Movies on Netflix You Can Stream During the Holidays," 19 Dec. 2018

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