pacemaker

American  

[peys-mey-ker] / ˈpeɪsˌmeɪ kər /

noun

pacemakers plural

1. pacesetter.

2. Medicine/Medical. an electronic device implanted beneath the skin for providing a normal heartbeat by electrical stimulation of the heart muscle, used in certain heart conditions.

3. Anatomy, Physiology. any specialized tissue that governs a rhythmic or cyclic biological activity, as the sinoatrial node of the heart that controls heartbeat.

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pacemaker British  

/ ˈpeɪsˌmeɪkə /

noun

1. a person, horse, vehicle, etc, used in a race or speed trial to set the pace

2. a person, an organization, etc, regarded as being the leader in a particular field of activity

3. Also called: cardiac pacemaker.  a small area of specialized tissue within the wall of the right atrium of the heart whose spontaneous electrical activity initiates and controls the beat of the heart

4. Also called: artificial pacemaker.  an electronic device for use in certain cases of heart disease to assume the functions of the natural cardiac pacemaker

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pacemaker Scientific  

/ pās′mā′kər /

1. Any of several usually miniaturized and surgically implanted electronic devices used to stimulate or regulate contractions of the heart muscle. Electrodes attached to the heart muscle conduct electrical signals generated from the pacemaker, which either provides constant electrical stimuli to regularize the heartbeat (fixed-rate pacemakers) or provides a stimulus only when electrical activity within the heart is abnormal (demand pacemakers). Pacemakers are used in the treatment of various arrhythmias.

2. A part of the body, such as the specialized mass of cardiac muscle fibers of the sinoatrial node, that sets the pace or rhythm of physiological activity.

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pacemaker Cultural  

1. A group of specialized muscle fibers in the heart that send out impulses to regulate the heartbeat. If the heart's built-in pacemaker does not function properly, an artificial pacemaker may be necessary — a small electrical device that also regulates the heartbeat by sending out impulses. An artificial pacemaker may be placed inside the body surgically or may be worn outside.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pacemaking
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pacemakers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pacemaker

First recorded in 1880–85; pace ¹ + maker

Explanation

A pacemaker is a medical device that controls a person's heartbeat. A patient only has a pacemaker implanted when his own heart isn't working well on its own. The human heart has a natural pacemaker that makes it beat at an appropriate rate to keep blood flowing throughout the body. Sometimes it doesn't work right, because of some kind of blockage or other problem that causes the heart to beat too slowly. In these cases, cardiologists — or heart doctors — will often surgically implant an electronic pacemaker as a replacement. Pacemaker research began in 1899, but it wasn't until 1958 that the first patients received these lifesaving devices.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pacemaker pacemakers

On Sunday, Boesen said "the pacemaker responded as it should".

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

From cornflakes to the pacemaker, some of our most beloved—and useful—products were born of blunders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

The first wholly implantable pacemaker was placed in a dog in 1958 and in a human two years later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Investigators are now using a device that might be able to detect Bluetooth signals coming from her pacemaker, law enforcement sources told CBS.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

She was our pacemaker, and we kept with her.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

She has written Page One WSJ features on nuclear pacemakers, a damaged model of the Queen Mary ocean liner and abandoned Redbox movie vending machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

It’s hundreds, thousands, and sometimes more than 100,000 people suing over life-changing physical harm from asbestos-laced baby powder, from NFL concussions, from pacemakers, hip implants, and other medical products.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

These include knee and hip replacements, robotic surgery, and pacemakers.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025

She was aided by 13 pacemakers, including Britain's Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell and Jemma Reekie, as she chased the Wavelights tracking her progress on the inside curb of the track.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025

You might easily pick out these pacemakers, for they worked under the eye of the bosses, and they worked like men possessed.

From The Jungle by Sinclair, Upton

Related Words

• favorite
• shoo-in