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.
a single pulsation, or beat or throb, of the arteries or heart.
the rhythmic recurrence of strokes, vibrations, or undulations.
a single stroke, vibration, or undulation.
Electricity. a momentary, sudden fluctuation in an electrical quantity, as in voltage or current.
Physics. a single, abrupt emission of particles or radiation.
a throb of life, emotion, etc.
vitality.
the general attitude, sentiment, preference, etc., as of the public.
verb (used without object),pulsed,puls·ing.
to beat or throb; pulsate.
to beat, vibrate, or undulate.
Physics. to emit particles or radiation periodically in short bursts.
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.
Origin of pulse
1
1300–50; <Latin pulsus a beat, equivalent to *peld-, base of pellere to set in motion by beating or striking (cf. impel) + -tus, suffix of v. action, with dt<s and backing and raising of e before velar l; replacing Middle English pous<Middle French <Latin, as above
As officials make difficult calls about when to lift—or reapply—restrictions, it will help to have “a pulse of the level of infection in a community, in real time,” says Matus—like the one thrumming under our feet.
The rhythmical dilation of arteries produced when blood is pumped outward by regular contractions of the heart, especially as palpated at the wrist or in the neck.
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.
A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity, such as an electric current or field.
Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity.