heart-stopper

noun

heart-stop·​per ˈhärt-ˌstä-pər How to pronounce heart-stopper (audio)
plural heart-stoppers
: a shocking or thrilling occurrence or event (such as an excitingly suspenseful competition)
… he connected on the game-winner with a shaky 41-yarder in the closing moments for a 24-22 heart-stopper against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Jon Saraceno

Examples of heart-stopper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The result is a 15-minute heart-stopper during which the men are tossed around like rag dolls and whip one another at high speeds while a bloodthirsty crowd roars as other contestants get trampled. Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024 Aledo, winner of a UIL-record 11 state titles, had its own heart-stopper as Cole Crawford kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired to beat Denton Guyer 48-45. Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 2 Sep. 2023 The midcentury daylight ranch property is off the market, but is still a heart-stopper. Jeastman, oregonlive, 28 July 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heart-stopper was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near heart-stopper

Cite this Entry

“Heart-stopper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart-stopper. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!