any of several tropical American leguminous trees of the genus Peltogyne
the decorative purple heartwood of any of these trees
informal a heart-shaped purple tablet consisting mainly of amphetamine
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Army combat veteran and a Purple Heart recipient.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
As a marine, Mueller earned a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
After a grenade almost killed him in Normandy, he earned a Purple Heart and then sang in the jazz clubs of Paris.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
He entered the Army’s 101st Airborne Division and earned a Purple Heart as one of the paratroopers who, at age 20, dropped into German-occupied France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
He was decorated with a Purple Heart and a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with two clusters.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
