heart-stopping

adjective

heart-stop·​ping ˈhärt-ˌstä-piŋ 

: extremely shocking or exciting

a heart-stopping adventure

heart-stopping views

heart-stoppingly adverb

a heart-stoppingly suspenseful film

a heart-stoppingly beautiful view

Synonyms of heart-stopping

• breathtaking
• exciting
• thrilling
• interesting

Examples of heart-stopping in a Sentence

the movie's climax is a heart-stopping chase through the streets of San Francisco

Recent Examples on the Web

After more than a month of heart-stopping action, the FIFA men’s World Cup is finally approaching the finish line. — Bob Harkins, New York Times, 16 July 2026

The drama continued Saturday for Messi and Argentina, whose players collapsed to the turf at the end of another heart-stopping match. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026

Argentina fans on the streets for a heart-stopping match against Cape Verde. — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026

The first two movies established themselves as genre classics, combining heart-stopping action with futuristic sci-fi that explored the threat of AI bringing about an apocalypse. — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 3 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heart-stopping

• eavesdropping
• outcropping
• sharecropping
• chopping
• copping
• cropping
• dropping
• flopping
• hopping
• lopping
• mopping
• popping