noun
heart
haht
noun
1
The muscular organ that pumps blood through the body, traditionally seen as the seat of emotion.
"Her heart raced as she waited for the results."
"Regular exercise keeps your heart strong."
2
A person's feelings, emotions, or capacity to love and care.
"He wears his heart on his sleeve."
3
The central or most essential part of something.
"The dispute goes to the very heart of the disagreement."
4
Courage, determination, or spirit, especially under difficulty.
"The team showed real heart to come back and win in the final minute."
5
A stylized symbol (♥) representing love, or the card-suit of that name.
"She drew a little heart next to her signature."
verb
1
Informal: to love or be very fond of, often written with the heart symbol.
"The bumper sticker read "I ❤ NY.""
How to Use Heart
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe organ that pumps blood, and by extension, a person's emotions, courage, or the core of something.
Common mistake
As a verb ("I heart this"), it's informal/playful and shouldn't be used in formal writing.
Common pairings
broken heart
heart of the matter
lose heart
take heart
heart and soul
Word Forms
hearted past tense, hearts plural, Hearts plural, hearts singular
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Her _____ raced as she waited for the results.
Etymology
From Old English heorte, an ancient Indo-European word for "heart"; the figurative "to love" sense of the verb only dates to the 1977 "I ❤ NY" ad campaign.