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heart

Pronunciation: /hɑːt/
Translate heart | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of heart

noun

  • 1a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. In vertebrates there may be up to four chambers (as in humans), with two atria and two ventricles.
  • the region of the chest above the heart:holding hand on heart for the Pledge of Allegiance
  • the heart regarded as the centre of a person’s thoughts and emotions, especially love or compassion:hardening his heart, he ignored her entreaties he poured out his heart to me [mass noun]:he has no heart
  • [mass noun] one’s mood or feeling:they had a change of heart they found him well and in good heart
  • [mass noun] courage or enthusiasm:they may lose heart as the work mounts up Mary took heart from the encouragement handed out
  • 2the central or innermost part of something:right in the heart of the city
  • the vital part or essence:the heart of the matter
  • the close compact head of a cabbage or lettuce.
  • 3a conventional representation of a heart with two equal curves meeting at a point at the bottom and a cusp at the top.
  • (hearts) one of the four suits in a conventional pack of playing cards, denoted by a red heart-shaped figure.
  • a card of the suit of hearts.
  • (hearts) a card game similar to whist, in which players attempt to avoid taking tricks containing a card of the suit of hearts.
  • 4 [usually with modifier] the condition of agricultural land as regards fertility: a well-maintained farm in good heart

verb

[with object] informal
  • like very much; love:I totally heart this song
    [from use of the symbol ♥, first popularized by the ‘I ♥ NY’ advertising campaign of the late 1970s]

Phrases

after one's own heart

sharing one’s tastes or views: he looked like a man after my own heart

at heart

in one’s real nature, in contrast to how one may appear:he’s a good lad at heart

break someone's heart

overwhelm someone with sadness: it would break her heart to have to leave

by heart

from memory.

close (or dear) to (or near) one's heart

of deep interest and concern to one.

from the (bottom of one's) heart

with sincere feeling:their warmth and hospitality is right from the heart

give (or lose) one's heart to

fall in love with.

have a heart

[often in imperative] be merciful; show pity.

have a heart of gold

have a generous nature.

have the heart to do something

[usually with negative] be insensitive or hard-hearted enough to do something:I don’t have the heart to tell her

have (or put) one's heart in

be (or become) keenly involved in or committed to (an enterprise):he does not seem to have his heart in the role

have one's heart in one's mouth

be greatly alarmed or apprehensive.

have one's heart in the right place

be sincere or well intentioned.

heart of stone

a stern or cruel nature.

hearts and flowers

used in allusion to extreme sentimentality: hearts and flowers music

hearts and minds

used in reference to emotional and intellectual support or commitment:a campaign to win the hearts and minds of America’s college students

one's heart's desire

a person or thing that one greatly wishes for: he confided to me that his heart’s desire was really to pursue dentistry

one's heart sinks

used to express a feeling of sudden sadness or dismay:her heart sank as she thought of Craig

one's heartstrings

used in reference to one’s deepest feelings of love or compassion:the kitten’s pitiful little squeak tugged at her heartstrings

in one's heart of hearts

in one’s inmost feelings.

take something to heart

take criticism seriously and be affected or upset by it: he took Wilson’s criticism to heart

to one's heart's content (or delight)

to the full extent of one’s desires:the children could run and play to their heart’s content in an older vehicle, you can ride around to your heart’s delight

wear one's heart on one's sleeve

make one’s feelings apparent.

with all one's heart (or one's whole heart)

sincerely; completely.

heart to heart

candidly, intimately.

Derivatives

hearted

adjective
[in combination]:a generous-hearted woman

Origin:

Old English heorte, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hart and German Herz, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin cor, cord- and Greek kēr, kardia

heart in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of heart in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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