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heartbeat

noun
/ˈhɑːtˌbiːt/UK/ˈhɑɹtˌbit/US

Etymology

From heart + beat.

  1. derived from *bautaną✻ — “to push, strike”
  2. derived from *bautan✻
  3. derived from bēatan — “to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”
  4. inherited from beten
  5. compounded as heartbeat — “heart + beat”

Definitions

  1. One pulsation of the heart

    One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it.

    • The policeman waited for a heartbeat in vain.
    • He alone gives me such heartbeats.

  2. The rhythm at which a heart pulsates, a cardiac indicator.

    • If your heartbeat doesn't normalize soon, consult a doctor!

  3. A driving impulse or vital force

    A driving impulse or vital force; the vital center of something.

    • Music is the heartbeat of the people.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. A very short space of time

      A very short space of time; an instant.

      • The ambulance arrived in a heartbeat.
      • Cause I love you more than life Take a bullet for you I swear, I swear In a heartbeat

    2. A periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to…

      A periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize other parts of a system.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for heartbeat. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA