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Purple Heart
Purple Heartnouna medal awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy or as a direct result of an act of the enemy.
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purple heart
purple heartnounany of several tropical American leguminous trees of the genus Peltogyne
Purple Heart
Americannoun
noun
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any of several tropical American leguminous trees of the genus Peltogyne
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the decorative purple heartwood of any of these trees
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informal a heart-shaped purple tablet consisting mainly of amphetamine
noun
Etymology
Origin of Purple Heart
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Army combat veteran and a Purple Heart recipient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
He joined the Marines and led a rifle platoon of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam, where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
A company called Purple Heart reportedly acted an an intermediary in the transfer.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
A new uniform was a CO’s Purple Heart.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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He was awarded the purple heart and is buried in the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024
Spice, born Isis Naija Gaston, quote tweeted in response, saying, “sweetest person ever thank u sm i love yuuuu,” punctuated with a heart-eye emoji, purple heart emoji and heart-hands emoji.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2023
Four were red and the fifth had a small purple heart bordered by silver varnish.
From Reuters ● Feb. 22, 2023
But I believe Rivera will give Heinicke — purple heart and all — just one more chance in Denver to get it right.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 25, 2021
Its surface is lined with hot-pink construction paper, covered in blue and purple heart stickers.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.