cardio-

¹

1. a combining form meaning “heart,” used in the formation of compound words.

   cardiogram.

cardio

²

[kahr-dee-oh]

noun

Informal.

1. aerobic exercise that stimulates and strengthens the heart and lungs.

   I mostly use weights, but I always add a little cardio into my routine.

adjective

Informal.

1. of or relating to aerobic exercise.

   The class begins with a slow and steady warmup, and then it switches to a cardio workout.

2. of or relating to the heart; cardiovascular.

   He's a hugely successful cardio surgeon.

cardio-

combining form

1. heart

   cardiogram

Word History and Origins

Origin of cardio-¹

< Greek kardio-, combining form of kardía

Origin of cardio-²

First recorded in 1960–65

Word History and Origins

Origin of cardio-¹

from Greek kardia heart

Example Sentences

Part of the cardio growth story is the Watchman product, a small implant that closes the left atrial appendage of patients with atrial fibrillation, or AF.

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“It’s muscle memory, but you need to get yourself in shape to do that. So I trained with our action team –– some weights, a lot of cardio, and also constantly working after choreography and making sure I knew them. When you do an action movie like this, it’s both not only physically demanding, but also mentally as well too, because knowing the moves is just as important as anything.”

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In preparation to face Gane, Aspinall and his team have made one major change compared with previous fight camps - they have prioritised cardio.

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"He's very athletic. He's got great cardio so I obviously want to be able to match that or get as close to it as possible."

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Despite the improvements in Aspinall's cardio he would still prefer to end the contest early.

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When To Use

What does cardio- mean?

Cardio- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “heart.” It is used in many medical and scientific terms.Cardio- comes from the Greek kardía, meaning “heart.” In fact, the English word heart and the Greek kardía are related. Learn more at our entry for heart.What are variants of cardio-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, cardio- becomes cardi-, as in cardiectomy.