cardiac
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the heart.
cardiac disease.
-
of or relating to the esophageal portion of the stomach.
noun
-
cardiacs
plural
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Medicine/Medical. a cardiac remedy.
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a person with heart disease.
adjective
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of or relating to the heart
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of or relating to the portion of the stomach connected to the oesophagus
noun
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a person with a heart disorder
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obsolete a drug that stimulates the heart muscle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cardiac
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English or directly from Middle French cardiaque, from Latin cardiacus, from Greek kardiakós, equivalent to kardí(a) heart + -akos -ac
Explanation
Cardiac describes anything that's connected or related to the heart. During a cardiac exam, a doctor listens to your heartbeat and takes your pulse. The adjective cardiac is most often used in a medical context: a doctor who operates on people's hearts is a cardiac surgeon, and an irregular heart beat is called "cardiac arrhythmia." It's common for both medical and non-medical people to call a heart attack "cardiac arrest." The word comes from the French cardiaque, which is rooted in the Greek kardiakos, "pertaining to the heart," from kardia, "heart."
Vocabulary lists containing cardiac
Freak the Mighty
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Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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February Vocabulary Words
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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:
Sandra's heart attack and cardiac arrest continue to affect her life to this day and there are still days when she can "do very little".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
A spokesperson for the St. Charles County Ambulance District confirmed paramedics responded Saturday to a report of a man in cardiac arrest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The changes cut the typical number of alarms per patient each day by 75% in the pediatric ICU and by 82% in the cardiac unit, with researchers finding no increase in emergencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Urolithin A significantly improved tissue relaxation in these cells, suggesting the findings could translate to human cardiac function.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
At his doctor’s suggestion, Miele enrolled in a three- month monitored exercise program for heart disease patients, called cardiac rehab, which has been shown to reduce the mortality rate among heart patients by 20 percent.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
And industry must learn that cardiacs do as well at their jobs as other workers ...
From Time Magazine Archive
For their million dollars, New York cardiacs and taxpayers will have the largest pump house in the world.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
