/ hɑːt; NAmE hɑːrt/ noun
PART OF BODY
1.
[ C ] the organ in the chest that sends blood around the body, usually on the left in humans :
The patient's heart stopped beating for a few seconds.
heart trouble / failure
to have a weak heart
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest (= because of excitement etc.) .
—picture at organ
—see also coronary heart disease , open-heart surgery
2.
[ C ] ( literary ) the outside part of the chest where the heart is :
She clasped the photo to her heart.
FEELINGS / EMOTIONS
3.
[ C ] the place in a person where the feelings and emotions are thought to be, especially those connected with love :
She has a kind heart.
Have you no heart?
He returned with a heavy heart (= sad) .
Her novels tend to deal with affairs of the heart .
The story captured the hearts and minds of a generation.
—see also broken heart
-HEARTED
4.
(in adjectives) having the type of character or personality mentioned :
cold-hearted
kind-hearted
IMPORTANT PART
5.
[ sing. ] heart (of sth) the most important part of sth :
the heart of the matter / problem
The committee's report went to the heart of the government's dilemma.
The distinction between right and wrong lies at the heart of all questions of morality.
CENTRE
6.
[ C , usually sing. ] heart (of sth) the part that is in the centre of sth :
a quiet hotel in the very heart of the city
OF CABBAGE
7.
[ C ] the smaller leaves in the middle of a cabbage , lettuce , etc.
SHAPE
8.
[ C ] a thing shaped like a heart, often red and used as a symbol of love :
The words 'I love you' were written inside a big red heart.
IN CARD GAMES
9.
hearts [ pl. , U ] one of the four sets of cards (called suits ) in a pack / deck of cards, with red heart symbols on them :
the queen of hearts
Hearts is / are trumps.
10.
[ C ] one card from the set of hearts :
Who played that heart?
•
IDIOMS
- at heart
- break sb's heart
- by heart
- close / dear / near to sb's heart
- from the (bottom of your) heart
- give sb (fresh) heart
- give your heart to sb
- have a heart!
- have a heart of gold
- have a heart of stone
- heart and soul
- your heart goes out to sb
- sb's heart is in their mouth
- sb's heart is in the right place
- your heart is not in sth
- sb's heart leaps
- sb's heart misses a beat
- sb's heart sinks
- in good heart
- in your heart (of hearts)
- it does sb's heart good (to do sth)
- let your heart rule your head
- lose heart
- lose your heart (to sb/sth)
- a man / woman after your own heart
- my heart bleeds (for sb)
- not have the heart (to do sth)
- pour out / open your heart to sb
- set your heart on sth | have your heart set on sth
- take heart (from sth)
- take sth to heart
- tear / rip the heart out of sth
- to your heart's content
- with all your heart / your whole heart
—more at absence , change noun , cross verb , eat , etch , eye noun , find verb , goodness , home noun , interest noun , sick adjective , sob verb , steal verb , strike verb , tear (I) verb , warm verb , way noun , wear verb , win verb , young adjective
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English heorte , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hart and German Herz , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin cor , cord- and Greek kēr , kardia .