heartbeat

/ˌhɑrtˈbit/

/ˈhɑtbit/

Other forms: heartbeats

That regular thumping in your chest is your heartbeat, the relaxation and contraction of your heart's chambers that sends blood flowing through your body.

You may notice your heartbeat after you've been exercising vigorously, or when something really scares you. It's the rhythmic pulse that can be heard through a stethoscope as your heart works to pump your blood. Figuratively, a heartbeat is also a brief, quick moment, as in "It was over in a heartbeat," or something vitally important, as in "She was the heartbeat of our Girl Scout troop." Heartbeat comes from the "repeated strike of a drum" sense of beat.

Definitions of heartbeat

1. noun

   the steady contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
   synonyms: beat, pulsation, pulse

   types:

   diastole

   the widening of the chambers of the heart between two contractions when the chambers fill with blood

   systole

   the contraction of the chambers of the heart (especially the ventricles) to drive blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery

   pounding, throb, throbbing

   an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)

   extrasystole

   a premature systole resulting in a momentary cardiac arrhythmia

   type of:

   periodic event, recurrent event

   an event that recurs at intervals
2. noun

   a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
   synonyms: New York minute, blink of an eye, flash, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink

   type of:

   bit, minute, mo, moment, second

   an indefinitely short time
3. noun

   a force that gives life or spirit
   “New York is the commercial heartbeat of America”

   type of:

   force

   a powerful effect or influence