heart Hear it!

heart Definition

heart (härt)

noun

    1. the hollow, muscular organ in a vertebrate animal that receives blood from the veins and pumps it through the arteries by alternate dilation and contraction
    2. an analogous part in most invertebrate animals
  2. the part of the human body thought of as containing the heart; breast; bosom
  3. any place or part like a heart, in that it is near the center; specif.,
    1. the central core of a plant or vegetable hearts of celery
    2. the center or innermost part of a place or region the heart of a city
  4. the central, vital, or main part; real meaning; essence; core
  5. the human heart considered as the center or source of emotions, personality attributes, etc.; specif.,
    1. inmost thought and feeling; consciousness or conscience to know in one's heart
    2. the source of emotions
    3. one's emotional nature; disposition to have a kind heart
    4. any of various humane feelings; love, devotion, sympathy, etc.
    5. mood; feeling to have a heavy heart
    6. spirit, resolution, or courage to lose heart
  6. a person, usually one loved or admired in some specified way he is a valiant heart
  7. something like a heart in shape; conventionalized design or representation of a heart, shaped like this: ♥
    1. any of a suit of playing cards marked with such figures in red
    2. this suit of cards
    3. ☆ a card game in which the object is either to avoid winning any hearts or the queen of spades, or to win all the hearts and the queen of spades

Etymology: ME herte < OE heorte, akin to Ger herz < IE base *erd-, ṙd-, heart > L cor, (gen. cordis), Gr kardia, OIr cride, Serb sr̈ce

transitive verb

Rare to hearten, or encourage

heart Idioms

after someone's own heart

that suits or pleases someone perfectly

at heart

in one's innermost or hidden nature; secretly or fundamentally

break someone's heart

to cause someone to be overcome with grief or disappointment, often, specif., by rejecting or spurning his or her love or affection

by heart

by or from memorization

change of heart

☆

a change of mind, affections, loyalties, etc.

do someone's heart good

to make someone happy; please someone

eat one's heart out

to brood or feel keenly unhappy over some frustration or in regret

from (the bottom of) one's heart

very sincerely or deeply

have a heart

☆

to be kind, sympathetic, generous, etc.

have one's heart in one's mouth

or have one's heart in one's boots

to be full of fear or nervous anticipation

have one's heart in the right place

to be well-intentioned or well-meaning

heart and soul

with all one's effort, enthusiasm, etc.

in one's heart of hearts

in one's innermost nature or deepest feelings; fundamentally

lose one's heart (to)

to fall in love (with)

near someone's heart

dear or important to someone

set someone's heart at rest

to cause someone to set aside doubts, fears, or worries

set one's heart on

to have a fixed desire for; long for

steal someone's heart

to cause someone to feel love or affection

take heart

to have more courage or confidence; cheer up

take to heart

  1. to consider seriously
  2. to be troubled or grieved by

to one's heart's content

as much as one desires

wear one's heart on one's sleeve

to behave so that one's feelings or affections are plainly evident

with all one's heart

  1. with complete sincerity, devotion, etc.
  2. very willingly; with pleasure

with half a heart

halfheartedly

heart Synonyms

heart

n.

  1. The pump in the circulatory system

    vital organ, vascular organ, blood pump, cardiac organ, artificial heart, pacemaker, ticker*, clock*; see also organ 2.

  2. Feeling

    pity, response, sympathy, sensitivity; see emotion, feeling, pity 1.

  3. The center

    core, middle, pith; see center 1.

  4. The most important portion

    core, gist, quintessence, root; see essence 1, soul 2.

  5. Courage

    fortitude, gallantry, spirit; see courage 1, mind 1, soul 4.

  6. The breast

    bosom, marrow, soul; see breast 3.

after one's own heart

suitable, pleasing, lovable; see pleasant 2.

at heart

basically, fundamentally, privately; see essentially, secretly.

break one's heart

grieve, disappoint, pain; see hurt 1.

by heart

from memory, memorized, learned; see remembered.

change of heart

change of mind, reversal, alteration; see change 2.

do one's heart good

please, make content, delight; see satisfy 1.

eat one's heart out

worry, regret, nurse one's troubles, fret, pine, grieve; see also brood 2, worry 2.

from the bottom of one's heart

deeply, honestly, frankly; see sincerely.

have a heart

be kind, empathize, take pity; see sympathize.

have one's heart in one's mouth

be frightened, have anxiety, become nervous; see fear 1.

have one's heart in the right place

be well-intentioned, be well-meaning, be kind; see generousmodif. 2.

in one's heart of hearts

fundamentally, basically, privately; see secretly.

lay to heart

take into account, take to heart, believe; see consider 1.

lose one's heart to

love, cherish, adore; see fall in love at love.

near one's heart

important, dear, cherished; see beloved.

set one's heart at rest

calm, placate, soothe; see comfort.

set one's heart on

long for, need, desire; see want 1.

take heart

cheer up, be comforted, take courage; see encourage 2.

take to heart

  1. To consider seriously

    take seriously, lay to heart, take into account, believe; see consider 1, 3.

  2. To take offense

    take personally, be insulted, take the wrong way, take umbrage.

to one's heart's content

  1. as much as one likes, as long as one pleases, until satisfied, sufficiently; see enough 2.

  2. To concern oneself with

    be affected by, feel deeply, trouble oneself, empathize, sympathize; see also feel 2, understand 1.

wear one's heart on one's sleeve

show one's affections, reveal one's emotions, be open.

with all one's heart

honestly, deeply, frankly; see sincerely.

with half a heart

half-heartedly, apathetically, listlessly; see indifferent 1.

heart Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • capture: Michael White captured hearts at the Crucible and on tv.
  • win: Two years later, he was part of the side that won Hearts ' first Scottish League Championship in more than sixty years.

Adjective modifier

  • lonely: These are not websites for lonely hearts, they're for people in search of holiday homes.
  • fetal: You can also opt for regular ultrasound scans and fetal heart monitoring if you do not want an induction.
  • healthy: A stable Congo could be Africa's healthy heart.
  • contrite: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
  • pure: Be observant if thou wouldst have a pure heart, for something is born to thee in consequence of every action.

Modifies a noun

  • disease: Being at high risk is a latent stage of coronary heart disease.
  • attack: A person having a heart attack will usually complain of a tight pain in the chest.
  • failure: Risk factors are: heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, a previous history of blood clots.
  • rate: A heart rate monitor is also an essential tool for any workout.
  • muscle: The walls of these chambers are mainly made of special heart muscle.
  • valve: This is to make sure there is no risk of infection of the heart valves.

Noun used with modifier

  • beating: Five hundred years later modern images of a beating heart have proved him right.
  • artichoke: For a store cupboard hoummus, process a drained jar of artichoke hearts and a drained can of borlotti beans.
  • thy: I revive thy members for thee; I bring thee thy heart, and put it in its place.

Possessives

desire: One is to lose your heart's desire, the other is to gain it.

Possessives

Pharaoh: No, God hardened Pharaoh's heart for His purposes to be fulfilled.

Preposition: of

  • city: There's still, in the heart of the city, some semblance of an old quarter.
  • village: San Josep: Restored Finca in secluded grounds yet located in the heart of the village.