Illustration of heart
- 1 aorta
- 2 pulmonary artery
- 3 left atrium
- 4 left ventricle
- 5 right ventricle
- 6 right atrium
plural hearts
1
a
: 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 pounding
b
: a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate heart
d
: something resembling a heart in shape
specifically
: a stylized representation of a heart
a card decorated with hearts and flowers
2
a
: a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a red heart
b
hearts plural
: the suit comprising cards marked with hearts
the five of hearts
c
hearts plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a game in which the object is to avoid taking tricks (see trick entry 1 sense 4) containing hearts
3
a
: personality, disposition
a cold heart
b
obsolete
: intellect
4
: the emotional or moral nature as distinguished from the intellectual nature: such as
a
: generous disposition : compassion
a leader with heart
c
: courage or enthusiasm especially when maintained during a difficult situation
never lost heart
see also take heart
5
: one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations
knew it in his heart
a man after my own heart
hearted; hearting; hearts
1
informal
a
: love entry 2
Jane hearts John.
I loathe beer. But I heart beer commercials …—
Rochell D. Thomas
Rochell D. Thomas
b
: to like (see like entry 1 sense 4) an online post, comment, etc., especially by clicking or tapping a heart-shaped symbol
The tweet still hits home so much, not just for us, but for the 2.6 million that hearted her tweet too.—The Edge (Auckland, New Zealand)
The Edge (Auckland, New Zealand)2
archaic
: hearten
3
archaic
: to fix in the heart
Synonyms
Examples of heart in a Sentence
Noun
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?
See More
Recent Examples on the WebKaty Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
In October, there were 57 new clinical cases of the drug-resistant, potentially lethal fungus that can invade a person's bloodstream, brain, heart or other organs, according to Nevada Division of Behavioral Health data.
—Mary Hynes Las Vegas Review-Journal (tns), arkansasonline.com, 21 Nov. 2023
And yet: The moment when Sam gets a kiss from Joanna, and then looks at Daniel with eyes full of triumph and love always melts my cold, American heart.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
That earned a whopping three heart emojis from Altman.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2023
Davis, Ali’s father, is a musician with a golden smile who can’t be trusted to show up for dinner (or for most of Ali’s life), but who can break hearts at the piano.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2023
That's because their antioxidant properties help decrease LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol that increases a person's risk for stroke or heart disease.67
3.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Rd, Health, 18 Nov. 2023
There was still one problem, though: Without lungs to physically support it, his heart would move around or fall deeper into his chest cavity.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2023
But unlike Katniss, who was very much the beating heart of the earlier films, Lucy Gray has to compete for narrative primacy with the young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth).
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Nov. 2023
See More
Noun
So is everyone a delusional, self-serving, trauma-masking Randian narcissist at heart?
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
In October, there were 57 new clinical cases of the drug-resistant, potentially lethal fungus that can invade a person's bloodstream, brain, heart or other organs, according to Nevada Division of Behavioral Health data.
—Mary Hynes Las Vegas Review-Journal (tns), arkansasonline.com, 21 Nov. 2023
And yet: The moment when Sam gets a kiss from Joanna, and then looks at Daniel with eyes full of triumph and love always melts my cold, American heart.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
That earned a whopping three heart emojis from Altman.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2023
Davis, Ali’s father, is a musician with a golden smile who can’t be trusted to show up for dinner (or for most of Ali’s life), but who can break hearts at the piano.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2023
That's because their antioxidant properties help decrease LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol that increases a person's risk for stroke or heart disease.67
3.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Rd, Health, 18 Nov. 2023
There was still one problem, though: Without lungs to physically support it, his heart would move around or fall deeper into his chest cavity.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2023
But unlike Katniss, who was very much the beating heart of the earlier films, Lucy Gray has to compete for narrative primacy with the young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth).
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English hert, from Old English heorte; akin to Old High German herza heart, Latin cord-, cor, Greek kardia
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of heart was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing heart
Articles Related to heart
Dictionary Entries Near heart
Cite this Entry
“Heart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
heart
nounˈhärt
1
a
: a hollow muscular organ of vertebrates that expands and contracts to move blood through the arteries, veins, and capillaries
b
: a structure in an invertebrate that serves a purpose like that of the heart of a vertebrate
2
: the central or most important part
the heart of a forest
the heart of the argument
3
a
: something resembling a heart in shape
b
: a playing card marked with red simplified patterns of hearts
c
plural
: a card game whose object is to avoid taking tricks with hearts
5
: personality sense 2, disposition sense 3
a cold heart
hearted
adjective
-əd
Medical Definition
heart
noun1
: 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
Geographical Definition
Heart
geographical name
river in southwestern North Dakota flowing 200 miles (320 kilometers) east into the Missouri River opposite Bismarck
More from Merriam-Webster on heart
Nglish: Translation of heart for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of heart for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about heart
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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