heartthrob

[ hahrt-throb ]

/ ˈhɑrtˌθrɒb /

noun

a rapid beat or pulsation of the heart.

a passionate or sentimental emotion.

Nearby words

heartsink, heartsome, heartsore, heartstopper, heartstrings, heartthrob, heartwarming, heartwood, heartworm, hearty, heat

Origin of heartthrob

First recorded in 1840–50; heart + throb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heart-throb

Fame came with ER in the mid-1990s and Clooney's role as heart-throb doctor Doug Ross.
Clooney: A Constant Charmer at the Altar|Tim Teeman|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Haleemamy 74 sleep and waking, night and day of my desiring soul, my thought and heart-throb!
Every Man for Himself|Norman Duncan
We cannot tell you why we live—let us be glad that our life is music through every heart-throb!
The Continental Monthly, Volume V. Issue I|Various
She had arrived at the age of seventeen, and to my certain knowledge had never felt the first heart-throb; never had been in love.
Graham's Magazine Vol. XXXII No. 2. February 1848|Various

When he had seen her last she had not caused one heart-throb, he was almost indifferent to her.
The Everlasting Arms|Joseph Hocking
For journey the shortest distance may seem when every inch means a heart-throb and one grows old in traversing a foot.
Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes|Various

British Dictionary definitions for heart-throb

heart-throb

noun

an object of infatuation

a heart beat

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