heart-stopper

noun

heart-stop·​per ˈhärt-ˌstä-pər 

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

Every near-miss is a heart-stopper, but Samantha’s eventual death relies not on the element of surprise, but on vital information being presented upfront, so that the anxiety of it eventually coming into play leaves no room for respite. —Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 16 May 2025

Albeit a fail at home or at work on your own PC is even more of a heart-stopper. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heart-stopper

• eavesdropper
• grasshopper
• improper
• leafhopper
• sharecropper
• chopper
• copper
• cropper
• dropper
• pauper
• popper
• proper