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pulse

1
[ puhls ]
/ pʌls /
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See synonyms for: pulse / pulsed / pulses / pulsing on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used without object), pulsed, puls·ing.
verb (used with object), pulsed, puls·ing.
to cause to pulse.
Medicine/Medical. to administer (medication) in interrupted, often concentrated dosages to avoid unwanted side effects.
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Origin of pulse

1
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”

OTHER WORDS FROM pulse

un·puls·ing, adjective

Other definitions for pulse (2 of 2)

pulse2
[ puhls ]
/ pʌls /

noun
the edible seeds of certain leguminous plants, as peas, beans, or lentils.
a plant producing such seeds.

Origin of pulse

2
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pulse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pulse (1 of 2)

pulse1
/ (pʌls) /

noun
verb
(intr) to beat, throb, or vibrate
(tr) to provide an electronic pulse to operate (a slide projector)

Derived forms of pulse

pulseless, adjective

Word Origin for pulse

C14 pous, from Latin pulsus a beating, from pellere to beat

British Dictionary definitions for pulse (2 of 2)

pulse2
/ (pʌls) /

noun
the edible seeds of any of several leguminous plants, such as peas, beans, and lentils
the plant producing any of these seeds

Word Origin for pulse

C13 pols, from Old French, from Latin puls pottage of pulse
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

Scientific definitions for pulse

pulse
[ pŭls ]

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.
A dose of a medication or other substance given over a short period of time, usually repetitively.
  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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with pulse

pulse

see take the pulse of.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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