noun
- 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
- an analogous part in most invertebrate animals
- the part of the human body thought of as containing the heart; breast; bosom
- any place or part like a heart, in that it is near the center; specif.,
- the central core of a plant or vegetable: hearts of celery
- the center or innermost part of a place or region: the heart of a city
- the central, vital, or main part; real meaning; essence; core
- the human heart considered as the center or source of emotions, personality attributes, etc.; specif.,
- inmost thought and feeling; consciousness or conscience: to know in one's heart
- the source of emotions
- one's emotional nature; disposition: to have a kind heart
- any of various humane feelings; love, devotion, sympathy, etc.
- mood; feeling: to have a heavy heart
- spirit, resolution, or courage: to lose heart
- a person, usually one loved or admired in some specified way: he is a valiant heart
- something like a heart in shape; conventionalized design or representation of a heart, shaped like this: ♥
- any of a suit of playing cards marked with such figures in red
- this suit of cards
- ☆ 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
Origin:
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