heart
Other forms: hearts
As the heart is the central organ of the human body, so the word heart has come to mean a central location of an organization or system, as well as being used to describe courage and generosity.
We can see the Germanic influences in the word heart by looking at the Old Saxon herta and the German herz. If we go back even further, however, we see the word also has ties to the Greek kardia, which makes sense when we consider that the prefix cardio refers to the heart. For example, a cardio workout is one that gets the heart pumping harder, and a cardiologist is a doctor of the heart. If someone asks that you "have a heart," however, they are appealing to your sense of generosity not to the blood-pumping organ.
Definitions of heart
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the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body“he stood still, his heart thumping wildly”
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types:
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athlete's heart
enlarged heart commonly found among athletes trained for endurance
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biauriculate heart
a heart (as of mammals and birds and reptiles) having two auricles
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type of:
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internal organ, viscus
a main organ that is situated inside the body
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athlete's heart
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a firm rather dry variety meat (usually beef or veal)“a five-pound beef heart will serve six”
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type of:
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organs, variety meat
edible viscera of a butchered animal
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organs, variety meat
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the locus of feelings and intuitions
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an inclination or tendency of a certain kind
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the courage to carry on
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a positive feeling of liking“the child won everyone's heart”
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synonyms:
affection, affectionateness, fondness, philia, tenderness, warmheartedness, warmness
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types:
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attachment, fond regard
a feeling of affection for a person or an institution
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protectiveness
a feeling of protective affection
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regard, respect
a feeling of friendship and esteem
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soft spot
a sentimental affection
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type of:
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feeling
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
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an area that is approximately central within some larger region“they ran forward into the heart of the struggle”
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examples:
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City of London
the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries; the commercial and financial center of London
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types:
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center stage, centre stage
the central area on a theater stage
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central city, city center, city centre
the central part of a city
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storm center, storm centre
the central area or place of lowest barometric pressure within a storm
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financial center
the part of a city where financial institutions are centered
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hub
a center of activity or interest or commerce or transportation; a focal point around which events revolve
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inner city
the older and more populated and (usually) poorer central section of a city
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medical center
the part of a city where medical facilities are centered
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midfield
(sports) the middle part of a playing field (as in football or lacrosse)
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seat
a center of authority (as a city from which authority is exercised)
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midstream
the middle of a stream
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capital
a seat of government
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civic center, down town, municipal center
the center of a city
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county courthouse, county seat
the town or city that is the seat of government for a county
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county town, shire town
the town or city that is the seat of government for a shire
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see
the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
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City of London
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the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience“the heart and soul of the Republican Party”
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synonyms:
center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, substance, sum
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types:
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bare bones
(plural) the most basic facts or elements
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hypostasis
(metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality
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haecceity, quiddity
the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
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distillation, quintessence
the purest and most concentrated essence of something
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stuff
a critically important or characteristic component
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type of:
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cognitive content, content, mental object
the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
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a plane figure with rounded sides curving inward at the top and intersecting at the bottom; conventionally used on playing cards and valentines“he drew a heart and called it a valentine”
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type of:
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plane figure, two-dimensional figure
a two-dimensional shape
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plane figure, two-dimensional figure
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a playing card in the major suit that has one or more red hearts on it“he led the queen of hearts”“hearts were trumps”
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type of:
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playing card
one of a pack of cards that are used to play card games
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playing card
Pronunciation
US
/hɑrt/
UK
/hɑt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘heart'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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