/ ˈɪmpʌls; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] impulse (to do sth) a sudden strong wish or need to do sth, without stopping to think about the results :
He had a sudden impulse to stand up and sing.
I resisted the impulse to laugh.
Her first impulse was to run away.
The door was open and on (an) impulse she went inside.
He tends to act on impulse .
2.
[ C ] ( technical ) a force or movement of energy that causes sth else to react :
nerve / electrical impulses
3.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] ( formal ) something that causes sb/sth to do sth or to develop and make progress :
to give an impulse to the struggling car industry
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent. (as a verb in the sense give an impulse to ): the verb from Latin impuls- driven on, the noun from impulsus impulsion, both from the verb impellere , from in- towards + pellere to drive.