pulse

¹ American  

[puhls] / pʌls /

noun

1. the regular throbbing of the arteries, caused by the successive contractions of the heart, especially as may be felt at an artery, as at the wrist.

2. a single pulsation, or beat or throb, of the arteries or heart.

3. the rhythmic recurrence of strokes, vibrations, or undulations.

4. a single stroke, vibration, or undulation.

5. Electricity. a momentary, sudden fluctuation in an electrical quantity, as in voltage or current.

6. Physics. a single, abrupt emission of particles or radiation.

7. a throb of life, emotion, etc.

8. vitality.

9. the general attitude, sentiment, preference, etc., as of the public.

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verb (used without object)

pulses, present (3rd person singular) pulsed, past participle, past pulsing present participle

1. to beat or throb; pulsate.

2. to beat, vibrate, or undulate.

3. Physics. to emit particles or radiation periodically in short bursts.

verb (used with object)

pulses, present (3rd person singular) pulsed, past participle, past pulsing present participle

1. to cause to pulse.

2. Medicine/Medical. to administer (medication) in interrupted, often concentrated dosages to avoid unwanted side effects.

pulse ² American  

[puhls] / pʌls /

noun

1. the edible seeds of certain leguminous plants, as peas, beans, or lentils.

2. a plant producing such seeds.

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pulse ¹ British  

/ pʌls /

noun

1. the edible seeds of any of several leguminous plants, such as peas, beans, and lentils

2. the plant producing any of these seeds

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pulse ² British  

/ pʌls /

noun

1. physiol

   1. the rhythmic contraction and expansion of an artery at each beat of the heart, often discernible to the touch at points such as the wrists

   2. a single pulsation of the heart or arteries

2. physics electronics

   1. a transient sharp change in voltage, current, or some other quantity normally constant in a system

   2. one of a series of such transient disturbances, usually recurring at regular intervals and having a characteristic geometric shape

   3. Less common name: impulse.  ( as modifier )

      a pulse generator

3. 1. a recurrent rhythmic series of beats, waves, vibrations, etc

   2. any single beat, wave, etc, in such a series

4. bustle, vitality, or excitement

   the pulse of a city

5. the feelings or thoughts of a group or society as they can be measured

   the pulse of the voters

6. to be well-informed about current events

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verb

1. (intr) to beat, throb, or vibrate

2. (tr) to provide an electronic pulse to operate (a slide projector)

pulse Scientific  

/ pŭls /

1. The rhythmic expansion and contraction of the arteries as blood is pumped through them by the heart. The pulse can be felt at several parts of the body, as over the carotid and radial arteries.

2. A dose of a medication or other substance given over a short period of time, usually repetitively.

3. 1. A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity, such as an electric current or field.

   2. Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity.

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pulse Idioms  

1. see take the pulse of.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pulseless
  adjective
• unpulsing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• pulsing
  present
• pulsed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pulse
  simple
• pulses
  simple
• have pulsed
  perfect
• has pulsed
  perfect
• am pulsing
  progressive
• are pulsing
  progressive
• is pulsing
  progressive
• have been pulsing
  perfect progressive
• has been pulsing
  perfect progressive

Past

• pulsed
  simple
• had pulsed
  perfect
• was pulsing
  progressive
• were pulsing
  progressive
• had been pulsing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pulse
  simple
• will have pulsed
  perfect
• will be pulsing
  progressive
• will have been pulsing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pulse¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pous(e), puls(e), from Old French pous, pulse, and Latin pulsus “a beat, stroke, throb,” noun use of past participle of pellere “to push, drive, strike”

Origin of pulse²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English puls, pols, from Old French pous, pouls, pols, from Latin puls “porridge; thick pap of meal”; see also poultice

Explanation

The word pulse has many shades of meaning, but most of them involve something characterized by short, rhythmic bursts. If you’re angry, the muscles in your jaw might pulse — meaning they contract quickly in short bursts. Pulse can be a noun that describes the rhythmic pumping of blood through your veins and arteries. You’ve probably had a nurse take your pulse as a way to measure your heart rate. Pulse can refer to other things that have a rhythmic beat, like the pulse of dance music or a pulse of flashing light. The verb describes something that throbs, literally or figuratively. Your blood will pulse through your veins, or a busy city may pulse with life.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pulse pulses pulsed pulsing

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Thursday tapped a former CEO of Walmart to help the U.S. central bank find better ways to keep its finger on the pulse of the U.S. economy.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

"Rockstar has always had its finger on the pulse of music, entertainment, societal, political, celebrity, and online culture trends, and they've never shied away from satirising these things in GTA games," she said.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Next came leg-movement detectors, breathing bands, a microphone, a nasal airflow monitor and a finger pulse oximeter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

“But with a nightmare I’d wake up with my pulse racing and think, ‘I’m OK, I survived.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Same with Woo—he just seems asleep, with a slight pulse.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

"Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids that the body needs," she said, noting that pulses - while also nutritious - contain more fibre and a higher share of non-essential amino acids.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

They then introduced a brief delay between laser pulses.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026

The first track, “Drop Dead,” begins with synth pulses and synthetic drums in a way that immediately evokes the ’80s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

The "jobby performances" - McGinn's words - in beating Greece and Belarus hardly set the pulses racing, but Scotland got what they needed from those games.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

This does not necessarily mean that the rhythms themselves are repetitive, but they do strongly suggest a repeated pattern of pulses.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Sound Wave has said it holds the basic patents in Japan and the U.S. for a method to treat early Alzheimer’s disease with low intensity pulsed ultrasound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

Mix with pulsed chickpeas and garlic for a creamier version of hummus.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026

This setup created a regularly pulsed environment that effectively kicked the atoms over and over again.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2026

But this one had a special addition of LED lights and ‘chakra-aligning’ gemstones that Vargas claimed pulsed at 4 hertz — a frequency she said that’s meant to help the immune system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

She walked toward the stage and stood right in front of him, letting him see the wound, her red and seething insides, the place where her fury pulsed, where her fire lived.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

A pulsing exploration of party culture and collective movement, it's a departure from the tender, introspective ballads on her Mercury Prize-winning debut, Collapsed In Sunbeams and its 2023 follow-up, My Soft Machine.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026

But it’s Peaches own music and stage show — ugly-beautiful DIY aesthetics and pulsing Electroclash musicality — where it all comes together in a powerfully freeing frenzy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

A veritable feast for the ears that shimmers with sound — a stray guitar flourish here, a pulsing synthesizer there.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026

Marine life that most people never see floated into view, including delicate comb jellies with pulsing fairy-light illuminations along their sides.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

The pulsing in my head was beginning to subside.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• vibration