heart skips a beat

idiom

informal

—used to say that someone is suddenly very surprised, excited, or nervous about something

When I learned I was on live television, my heart skipped a beat.

The shocking news made her heart skip a beat.

Examples of heart skips a beat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There is something about its cheap hotels, tacky bars, blue-plate diners and derelict trailer parks that make my heart skip a beat. —

Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 When New York magazine’s finance advice columnist dropped an article that went viral on Thursday about falling victim to a $50,000 scam, my heart skipped a beat. —

Ron Lieber, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 My heart skips a beat when the ship gets close to the Sydney Opera House with its white sail-like forms. —

Georgina Cruz, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Its façade in wood and stone is modest but still manages to make my heart skip a beat. —

Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heart skips a beat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“Heart skips a beat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart%20skips%20a%20beat. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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