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  • heart-to-heart
    heart-to-heart
    adjective
    frank; sincere.
  • heart to heart
    heart to heart
    Candidly, sincerely, as in We need to talk heart to heart about her coming marriage. This expression is nearly always applied to a conversation of some kind. [Mid-1900s]
Synonyms

heart-to-heart

American  
[hahrt-tuh-hahrt] / ˈhɑrt təˌhɑrt /

adjective

  1. frank; sincere.

    We had a heart-to-heart talk about his poor attendance.


noun

  1. Informal. a frank talk, especially between two persons.

heart-to-heart British  

adjective

  1. (esp of a conversation or discussion) concerned with personal problems or intimate feelings

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an intimate conversation or discussion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
heart to heart Idioms  
  1. Candidly, sincerely, as in We need to talk heart to heart about her coming marriage. This expression is nearly always applied to a conversation of some kind. [Mid-1900s]


Etymology

Origin of heart-to-heart

First recorded in 1865–70

Vocabulary lists containing heart-to-heart

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:

“We had a heart-to-heart about how we can’t afford what we originally planned,” said Morgan, a part-time teacher whose husband is a military veteran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Six months after losing his "kind, caring, clever and beautiful" partner to sudden adult death syndrome, he says remembering that "heart-to-heart in the car... makes me feel so much better".

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025

In a heart-to-heart talk with your adult child; acknowledge the pain, hardship or misunderstanding that resulted from your actions or decisions; and ask for forgiveness.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025

After a series of healing heart-to-heart conversations, Uchis’ mom worked for her daughters’ forgiveness — and spent ample time with her grandson before she tragically died in April.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

She’ll want you to come home right now for a heart-to-heart.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

Maybe Novak’s point is that, face to face and heart to heart, we don’t really fight as much as our social media avatars and elected representatives do.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

Their heart to heart is at the center of "Chiantishire," the penultimate Season 3 episode written by series creator Jesse Armstrong.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2021

"I found it quite difficult to get through, to really have a heart to heart with people on the doorsteps."

From BBC ● May 4, 2021

“We had a good heart to heart, and he took it and ran with it and made the most of it. That’s all you ever ask for, and it was great to see.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2019

"From Louisville. Our white girlhood was passed together there. Our beautiful white----" "Did you give Nick a little heart to heart talk on the veranda?" demanded Tom suddenly.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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