PULSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pulse mean? 

• PULSE (noun)
  The noun PULSE has 4 senses:

1. (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)

2. the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

3. the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health

4. edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants (peas or beans or lentils etc.)

  Familiarity information: PULSE used as a noun is uncommon.

• PULSE (verb)
  The verb PULSE has 3 senses:

1. expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically

2. produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses

3. drive by or as if by pulsation

  Familiarity information: PULSE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PULSE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

impulse; pulsation; pulse; pulsing

Context example:

the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star

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

undulation; wave ((physics) a movement up and down or back and forth)

Domain category:

electronics (the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices)

Derivation:

pulsate; pulse (produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

beat; heartbeat; pulsation; pulse

Context example:

he could feel the beat of her heart

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

periodic event; recurrent event (an event that recurs at intervals)

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

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))

Derivation:

pulsate; pulse (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

heart rate; pulse; pulse rate

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

vital sign (sign of life; usually an indicator of a person's general physical condition)

rate (a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit)

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

femoral pulse (pulse of the femoral artery (felt in the groin))

radial pulse (pulse of the radial artery (felt in the wrist))

Derivation:

pulsate; pulse (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants (peas or beans or lentils etc.)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

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

legume (the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas or beans or lentils))

• PULSE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pulse    ... he / she / it pulses   
Past simple: pulsed   
Past participle: pulsed   
-ing form: pulsing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

pulsate; pulse; throb

Context example:

The baby's heart was pulsating again after the surgeon massaged it

Hypernyms (to "pulse" is one way to...):

beat; pound; thump (move rhythmically)

Verb group:

beat; pulsate; quiver (move with or as if with a regular alternating motion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence examples:

The crowds pulse in the streets
The streets pulse with crowds

Derivation:

pulse (the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart)

pulse (the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

pulsate; pulse

Context example:

a transmitter pulsed by an electronic tube

Hypernyms (to "pulse" is one way to...):

create; make; produce (create or manufacture a man-made product)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

pulse; pulsing ((electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Drive by or as if by pulsation

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

A soft breeze pulsed the air

Hypernyms (to "pulse" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Cause:

pulsate; pulse; throb (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Upon administration, autologous melanoma lysate-pulsed autologous DC vaccine may stimulate the immune system to mount anti-tumoral cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and antibody responses against melanoma cells, which may result in melanoma cell lysis.

(Autologous Melanoma Lysate-Pulsed Autologous Dendritic Cell Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

A cancer vaccine consisting of autologous dendritic cells which have been pulsed with a mutant p53 peptide.

(Mutant p53 Peptide Pulsed Dendritic Cell Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

"It gives you that driving pulse, I think, that drives the music forward. And the woodblocks sort of do that as well," he said.

(Does Our Galaxy Sound Like Funky Blues Music?, George Putic/VOA)

The pain is throbbing or pulsing, and is often on one side of the head.

(Migraine, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

It uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.

(Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators, NIH)

His book, his first book, and his pulse had not gone up a fraction of a beat, and he was only sad.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was not joy only that possessed me; I felt my flesh tingle with excess of sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

An electronic sensing device designed to amplify low-energy light signals and convert them to electrical pulses.

(Photomultiplier Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

They send electrical pulses to stimulate the parts of the brain that control movement.

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

They're often described as a pulsing or throbbing in one side of the head.

(How Light Boosts Migraine Pain, NIH, US)