Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body.
Zoology.
the homologous structure in other vertebrates, consisting of four chambers in mammals and birds and three chambers in reptiles and amphibians.
the analogous contractile structure in invertebrate animals, as the tubular heart of the spider and earthworm.
the center of the total personality, especially with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion: In your heart you know I'm an honest man.
the center of emotion, especially as contrasted to the head as the center of the intellect:His head told him not to fall in love, but his heart had the final say.
capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection: His heart moved him to help the needy.
spirit, courage, or enthusiasm: His heart sank when he walked into the room and saw their gloomy faces.
the innermost or central part of anything: Notre Dame stands in the very heart of Paris.
the vital or essential part; core: the heart of the matter.
the breast or bosom: to clasp a person to one's heart.
a person (used especially in expressions of praise or affection): dear heart.
a conventional shape with rounded sides meeting in a point at the bottom and curving inward to a cusp at the top.
a red figure or pip of this shape on a playing card.
a card of the suit bearing such figures.
hearts,
(used with a singular or plural verb)the suit so marked: Hearts is trump. Hearts are trump.
(used with a singular verb)a game in which the players try to avoid taking tricks containing this suit.
Botany. the core of a tree; the solid central part without sap or albumen.
good condition for production, growth, etc., as of land or crops.
Also called core. Ropemaking. a strand running through the center of a rope, the other strands being laid around it.
verb (used with object)
Archaic.
to fix in the heart.
to encourage.
Informal. to like or enjoy very much; love: I heart Chicago.
Idioms for heart
after one's own heart, in keeping with one's taste or preference: There's a man after my own heart!
at heart, in reality; fundamentally; basically: At heart she is a romantic.
break someone's heart, to cause someone great disappointment or sorrow, as to disappoint in love: The news that their son had been arrested broke their hearts.
by heart, by memory; word-for-word: They knew the song by heart.
cross one's heart, to maintain the truth of one's statement; affirm one's integrity: That's exactly what they told me, I cross my heart!
do someone's heart good, to give happiness or pleasure to; delight: It does my heart good to see you again.
eat one's heart out, to have jealousy, longing, or sorrow dominate one's emotions (often used in the imperative and with jocular reference to a famous potential rival): My baby is a genius—Einstein, eat your heart out! He’s eating his heart out over his defeat.
from the bottom of one's heart, with complete sincerity.Also from one's heart,from the heart .
have a heart, to be compassionate or merciful: Please have a heart and give her another chance.
have at heart, to have as an object, aim, or desire: to have another's best interests at heart.
have one's heart in one's mouth, to be very anxious or fearful: He wanted to do the courageous thing, but his heart was in his mouth.
have one's heart in the right place, to be fundamentally kind, generous, or well-intentioned: The old gentleman may have a stern manner, but his heart is in the right place.
heart and soul, enthusiastically; fervently; completely: They entered heart and soul into the spirit of the holiday.
in one's heart of hearts, in one's private thoughts or feelings; deep within one: He knew, in his heart of hearts, that the news would be bad.
lose one's heart to, to fall in love with: He lost his heart to the prima ballerina.
near one's heart, of great interest or concern to one: It is a cause that is very near his heart.Also close to one's heart .
not have the heart, to lack the necessary courage or callousness to do something: No one had the heart to tell him he was through as an actor.
pour out one's heart, to reveal one's thoughts or private feelings:She poured out her heart to me.Also open one's heart .
set one's heart against, to be unalterably opposed to: She had set her heart against selling the statue.Also have one's heart set against .
set one's heart at rest, to dismiss one's anxieties: She couldn't set her heart at rest until she knew he had returned safely.
set one's heart on, to wish for intensely; determine on: She has set her heart on going to Europe after graduation.Also have one's heart set on .
take heart, to regain one's courage; become heartened: Her son's death was a great blow, but she eventually took heart, convinced that God had willed it.
take / lay to heart,
to think seriously about; concern oneself with: He took to heart his father's advice.
to be deeply affected by; grieve over: She was prone to take criticism too much to heart.
to one's heart's content, until one is satisfied; as much or as long as one wishes: The children played in the snow to their heart's content.
wear one's heart on one's sleeve,
to make one's intimate feelings or personal affairs known to all: She was not the kind who would wear her heart on her sleeve.
to be liable to fall in love; fall in love easily: How lovely to be young and wear our hearts on our sleeves!
with all one's heart,
with earnestness or zeal.
with willingness; cordially: She welcomed the visitors with all her heart.
Origin of heart
First recorded before 900; Middle English herte, Old English heorte; cognate with Dutch hart, German Herz, Old Norse hjarta, Gothic hairtō; akin to Latin cor (see cordial, courage), Greek kardía (see cardio-); def. 19 comes from the use of the stylized heart symbol to represent love
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH heart
hart, heart
Words nearby heart
hearsay evidence, hearsay rule, hearse, Hearst, Hearst, William Randolph, heart, heartache, heart and soul, heart attack, heartbeat, heart block
Over time it was pretty clear what the Lord was doing in our hearts and now we’re sitting here today, starting a whole new chapter together.
WNBA Player Maya Moore Marries Jonathan Irons, The Man She Helped Free From Prison|Jasmine Grant|September 17, 2020|Essence.com
“To really get at the heart of this question, we need to go to Venus,” says Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at North Carolina State University and a self-professed “Venus evangelical.”
We need to go to Venus as soon as possible|Neel Patel|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
My heart would be beating faster and faster every time he gets the ball.
A Canadian Teenager Is One Of The Fastest Soccer Players In The World|Julian McKenzie|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Its technology is at the heart of the more than 1 billion smartphones sold annually.
Nvidia is buying SoftBank’s Arm chip division in biggest semiconductor deal ever|Claire Zillman, reporter|September 14, 2020|Fortune
It will take more research to confirm the study’s findings and understand what they could mean for these young hearts.
College athletes show signs of possible heart injury after COVID-19|Aimee Cunningham|September 11, 2020|Science News
The questions going through my mind are: How on earth are there Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers in the heart of Paris?
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But at the heart of this “Truther” conspiracy theory is the idea that “someone” wants to destroy Bill Cosby.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One specific kind of emergency is at the heart of this, such as when an airplane suffers a loss of stability at night.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Acting legend talks about what role is closest to her heart.
Gena Rowlands on Her Favorite ‘Woman’|The Daily Beast Video|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And that gets to the heart of what makes the game so incredible: By staying silent, it turns the player into the game master.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sweet and low the name sounded from her lips and his heart thrilled.
The Viking Blood|Frederick William Wallace
Her eyes might find no blemish in his person, and Love knocked upon her heart, requiring her to love, since her time had come.
French Mediaeval Romances from the Lays of Marie de France|Marie de France
There came into her heart a longing that Ludwell Cary should see the matter truly.
Lewis Rand|Mary Johnston
He has guided Robert so often, and been with him in so many trying scenes, he never can have the heart to betray him, or us.
Wyandotte|James Fenimore Cooper
Yet by secret intuition each of them divined something of what was in the heart of the other.
Darkness and Dawn|Frederic W. Farrar
British Dictionary definitions for heart
heart
/ (hɑːt) /
noun
the hollow muscular organ in vertebrates whose contractions propel the blood through the circulatory system. In mammals it consists of a right and left atrium and a right and left ventricleRelated adjective: cardiac
the corresponding organ or part in invertebrates
this organ considered as the seat of life and emotions, esp love
emotional mood or dispositiona happy heart; a change of heart
tenderness or pityyou have no heart
courage or spirit; bravery
the inmost or most central part of a thingthe heart of the city
the most important or vital partthe heart of the matter
(of vegetables such as cabbage) the inner compact part
the core of a tree
the part nearest the heart of a person; breastshe held him to her heart
a dearly loved person: usually used as a term of addressdearest heart
a conventionalized representation of the heart, having two rounded lobes at the top meeting in a point at the bottom
a red heart-shaped symbol on a playing card
a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl.) the suit of cards so marked
a fertile condition in land, conducive to vigorous growth in crops or herbage (esp in the phrase in good heart)
after one's own heartappealing to one's own disposition, taste, or tendencies
at heartin reality or fundamentally
break one's heartorbreak someone's heartto grieve or cause to grieve very deeply, esp through love
by heartby committing to memory
cross my heart!orcross my heart and hope to die!I promise!
eat one's heart outto brood or pine with grief or longing
from one's heartorfrom the bottom of one's heartvery sincerely or deeply
have a heart!be kind or merciful
have one's heart in it(usually used with a negative)to have enthusiasm for something
have one's heart in one's bootsto be depressed or down-hearted
have one's heart in one's mouthorhave one's heart in one's throatto be full of apprehension, excitement, or fear
have one's heart in the right place
to be kind, thoughtful, or generous
to mean well
have the heart(usually used with a negative)to have the necessary will, callousness, etc (to do something)I didn't have the heart to tell him
heart and soulabsolutely; completely
heart of heartsthe depths of one's conscience or emotions
heart of oaka brave person
in one's heartsecretly; fundamentally
lose heartto become despondent or disillusioned (over something)
lose one's heart toto fall in love with
near to one's heartorclose to one's heartcherished or important
set one's heart onto have as one's ambition to obtain; covet
take heartto become encouraged
take to heartto take seriously or be upset about
to one's heart's contentas much as one wishes
wear one's heart on one's sleeveto show one's feelings openly
with all one's heartorwith one's whole heartvery willingly
verb
(intr)(of vegetables) to form a heart
an archaic word for hearten
See also hearts
Word Origin for heart
Old English heorte; related to Old Norse hjarta, Gothic hairtō, Old High German herza, Latin cor, Greek kardia, Old Irish cride
The hollow muscular organ that is the center of the circulatory system. The heart pumps blood throughout the intricate system of blood vessels in the body.
The chambered, muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.
A similarly functioning structure in invertebrates.
The hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the body of a vertebrate animal by contracting and relaxing. In humans and other mammals, it has four chambers, consisting of two atria and two ventricles. The right side of the heart collects blood with low oxygen levels from the veins and pumps it to the lungs. The left side receives blood with high oxygen levels from the lungs and pumps it into the aorta, which carries it to the arteries of the body. The heart in other vertebrates functions similarly but often has fewer chambers.
A similar but simpler organ in invertebrate animals.