HEART

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does heart mean? 

• HEART (noun)
  The noun HEART has 10 senses:

1. the locus of feelings and intuitions

2. the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body

3. the courage to carry on

4. an area that is approximately central within some larger region

5. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

6. an inclination or tendency of a certain kind

7. a plane figure with rounded sides curving inward at the top and intersecting at the bottom; conventionally used on playing cards and valentines

8. a firm rather dry variety meat (usually beef or veal)

9. a positive feeling of liking

10. a playing card in the major suit that has one or more red hearts on it

  Familiarity information: HEART used as a noun is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEART (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The locus of feelings and intuitions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

bosom; heart

Context example:

her story would melt your bosom

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

hunch; intuition; suspicion (an impression that something might be the case)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

heart; pump; ticker

Context example:

he stood still, his heart thumping wildly

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

internal organ; viscus (a main organ that is situated inside the body)

Meronyms (parts of "heart"):

arteria coronaria; coronary artery (the artery that branches from the aorta to supply blood to the heart)

cardiac muscle; heart muscle (the muscle tissue of the heart; adapted to continued rhythmic contraction)

cardiac valve; heart valve (a valve to control one-way flow of blood)

valve (a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heart"):

athlete's heart (enlarged heart commonly found among athletes trained for endurance)

biauriculate heart (a heart (as of mammals and birds and reptiles) having two auricles)

Holonyms ("heart" is a part of...):

cardiovascular system; circulatory system (the organs and tissues involved in circulating blood and lymph through the body)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The courage to carry on

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

heart; mettle; nerve; spunk

Context example:

you haven't got the heart for baseball

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

braveness; bravery; courage; courageousness (a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An area that is approximately central within some larger region

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

center; centre; eye; heart; middle

Context example:

they were in the eye of the storm

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

area; country (a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heart"):

center stage; centre stage (the central area on a theater stage)

central city; city center; city centre (the central part of a city)

storm center; storm centre (the central area or place of lowest barometric pressure within a storm)

financial center (the part of a city where financial institutions are centered)

hub (a center of activity or interest or commerce or transportation; a focal point around which events revolve)

inner city (the older and more populated and (usually) poorer central section of a city)

medical center (the part of a city where medical facilities are centered)

midfield ((sports) the middle part of a playing field (as in football or lacrosse))

seat (a center of authority (as a city from which authority is exercised))

midstream (the middle of a stream)

Instance hyponyms:

City of London; the City (the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries; the commercial and financial center of London)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

center; centre; core; essence; gist; heart; heart and soul; inwardness; kernel; marrow; meat; nitty-gritty; nub; pith; substance; sum

Context example:

the nub of the story

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heart"):

bare bones ((plural) the most basic facts or elements)

hypostasis ((metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality)

haecceity; quiddity (the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other)

quintessence (the purest and most concentrated essence of something)

stuff (a critically important or characteristic component)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An inclination or tendency of a certain kind

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

heart; spirit

Context example:

he had a change of heart

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

disposition; temperament (your usual mood)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A plane figure with rounded sides curving inward at the top and intersecting at the bottom; conventionally used on playing cards and valentines

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Context example:

he drew a heart and called it a valentine

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

plane figure; two-dimensional figure (a two-dimensional shape)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A firm rather dry variety meat (usually beef or veal)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Context example:

a five-pound beef heart will serve six

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

organs; variety meat (edible viscera of a butchered animal)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A positive feeling of liking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

affection; affectionateness; fondness; heart; philia; tenderness; warmheartedness; warmness

Context example:

the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heart"):

soft spot (a sentimental affection)

regard; respect (a feeling of friendship and esteem)

protectiveness (a feeling of protective affection)

attachment; fond regard (a feeling of affection for a person or an institution)

Derivation:

hearty (showing warm and heartfelt friendliness)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A playing card in the major suit that has one or more red hearts on it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

hearts were trumps

Hypernyms ("heart" is a kind of...):

playing card (one of a pack of cards that are used to play card games)

Holonyms ("heart" is a member of...):

major suit ((bridge) a suit of superior scoring value, either spades or hearts)

 Context examples 

You have not lost heart, then?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They were her brothers, he reminded himself, and his heart warmed toward them.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He had been stabbed to the heart and must have died instantly.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Now, let’s say you are not looking for a new job but rather are dating someone you love with all your heart.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You people with hearts, he said, have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“Bless your dear heart!” cried Peggotty.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

His heart was not in the work, nor was the heart of any dog.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Where ends the war without a brain and heart to conduct it?

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

"I'll say the first with all my heart, but how about the other? You don't look as if you were having a good time. Are you?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"I hadn't the heart to rouse you."

(White Fang, by Jack London)