lose heart

lose heart idiom
Become discouraged, as in The rescuers worked hard for the first few hours, but then they lost heart. This term uses heart in the sense of “courage” or “spirit.” [Mid-1800s] Also see lose one's heart to.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.