heart

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noun \ˈhärt\

Definition of heart

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 poundingb : a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate heartc : breast, bosom placed his hand on his heartd : 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 heartb hearts plural : the suit comprising cards marked with hearts the five of heartsc hearts plural in form but singular or plural in construction : a game in which the object is to avoid taking tricks (see ¹trick 4) containing hearts
3a : personality, disposition a cold heartb obsolete : intellect
4 : the emotional or moral nature as distinguished from the intellectual nature: such asa : generous disposition : compassion a leader with heartb : love, affection won her heartc : 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 forestb : the essential or most vital part of something the heart of the city get to the heart of the matterc : 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

See heart defined for English-language learners

See heart defined for kids

Examples of heart in a Sentence

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 of heart from the Web

A curtain would then be closed so the public couldn’t see the placement of the IV and heart monitors.

— alanna durkin richer, The Seattle Times, "Virginia set to execute man under more secretive protocol", 6 July 2017
Muralist Bob Teague, who created the Estates mural, told those at the dedication that the mural contains eight hearts.

— maureen robertson, Ramona Sentinel, "June murals showcase Country Estates, vineyards", 5 July 2017
At its heart has been a compulsive obsession, not so much with defense as with narrative—

— charlie winter, The Atlantic, "How ISIS Survives the Fall of Mosul", 3 July 2017
Our hearts are also with the Smith family during this difficult time.

— nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "Coroner IDs the Boiseans killed in a weekend cabin fire, including 2 children", 3 July 2017
Her heart worked perfectly the whole time and Eilee introduced herself quickly and smooth.

— samantha brodsky, Good Housekeeping, "31-Year-Old Heart Transplant Survivor Dies Hours After Giving Birth", 3 July 2017
Howell, a Hall of Fame coach, died of a heart attack at a health club in Hobart.

— mike hutton, Post-Tribune, "Hutton: A Post-Tribune sports columnist looks back at 20", 30 June 2017
The heart of the experiment, a stainless steel vacuum chamber 23 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide, was fabricated by a company in Deggendorf, just a 400-kilometer drive from the KATRIN site at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Weighing the universe's most elusive particle", 29 June 2017
The elder Burger died of complications from a heart attack six months before his son.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "I-95 bridge to be dedicated in memory of fallen Marine with Harford, Cecil ties", 29 June 2017

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.

Illustration of heart

Origin and Etymology of heart

Middle English hert, from Old English heorte; akin to Old High German herza heart, Latin cord-, cor, Greek kardia

NEW!

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

heart

verb

Definition of heart

transitive verb
1 informal : ²love Jane hearts John. I loathe beer. But I heart beer commercials … — Rochell D. Thomas
2 archaic : hearten
3 archaic : to fix in the heart

Recent Examples of heart from the Web

No one has taken this idea to heart more than local veterinarian Tom Burns.

— brian skerry, National Geographic, "Great White Sharks Invade This Town Every Summer", 10 June 2016

Origin and Etymology of heart

see ¹heart

NEW!

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Heart

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geographical name \ˈhärt\

Definition of Heart

river in southwestern North Dakota flowing 200 miles (320 kilometers) east into the Missouri River opposite Bismarck

HEART Defined for English Language Learners

heart

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noun

Definition of heart for English Language Learners

: 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

HEART Defined for Kids

heart

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noun \ˈhärt\

Definition of heart for Students

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

Medical Dictionary

heart

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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