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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms heart idiom

medical heart definition - medical

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.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

heart Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • capture: Michael White captured hearts at the Crucible and on tv.

Adjective modifier

  • lonely: These are not websites for lonely hearts, they're for people in search of holiday homes.

Modifies a noun

  • disease: Being at high risk is a latent stage of coronary heart disease.

Noun used with modifier

  • beating: Five hundred years later modern images of a beating heart have proved him right.

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.
heart usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

heart quotes

The Knight in the triumph of his heart made several 6 reflections on thegreatness of the British Nation; as, that one Englishman could beat three Frenchmen; that we could never be in danger of Popery so long as we took care of our fleet; that theThames was thenoblest river in Europe; that London Bridge was a greater piece of work than any of the Seven Wonders of the World; with many other honest prejudices which naturally cleave to the heart of a true Englishman.

-Addison,Joseph

She had a heart as big as Waterloo Station.

-Agate,James

Thought shall be the harder, heart the keener, courage the greater, as our might lessens.

-Anonymous

heart quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"heart." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/heart>

APA Style

heart. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/heart

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