heartbeat

[hahrt-beet]

noun

Physiology.

1. a pulsation of the heart, including one complete systole and diastole.

heartbeat

/ ˈhɑːtˌbiːt /

noun

1. one complete pulsation of the heart See diastole systole

Word History and Origins

Origin of heartbeat¹

First recorded in 1840–50; heart + beat

Example Sentences

Six weeks in, the pair sat in a hospital room holding their breath as a tiny heartbeat appeared on the screen, but later that day, Daisy began to bleed heavily.

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The viola sounds like a heartbeat heard through a stethoscope.

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For a heartbeat, you can almost imagine an alternate ending: two lonely figures passing the winter in gentle domesticity, breaking bread, tending the fire, building a language out of generosity.

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Worn for a couple of weeks, the Zio monitor looks for irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation—a racing heartbeat that can presage a stroke or heart attack.

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He speaks with the same measured warmth as ever — that deep, lilting rumble that can shift from conspiratorial murmur to amused growl in a heartbeat — but he sometimes loses a name mid-thought.

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Related Words

• pulse