heartbeat

1 the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart" [syn: pulse, pulsation, beat]

2 a very short time (as the time it takes the eye blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash" [syn: blink of an eye, flash, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink, New York minute]

3 an animating or vital unifying force; "New York is the commercial heartbeat of America"

English

Etymology

From heart + beat.

Noun

1. A rhythmic pulsation of the heart.

   The policeman felt for a heartbeat in vain

2. A driving impulse or vital force.

   Music is the heartbeat of the people

3. A very short space of time; an instant.

   The ambulance arrived in a heartbeat

4. A periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize other parts of a system.

Translations

Translations to be checked

• ttbc Japanese: 心拍 (shinpaku)

Heartbeat may refer to:

• Cardiac cycle of the heart
• Heart sounds, in medicine
• Heartbeat (TV series), a British police drama
• Heartbeat (novel), by Sharon Creech
• Heartbeat (program), clustering software from Linux-HA project
• Heartbeat (company), a video game developer that contributed to the Dragon Quest games

In music:

• Heartbeat Records, a record label
• Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson, a 1991 compilation album
• Heartbeat (album), an album and an eponymous single by Don Johnson
• The Heartbeats, a 50s doo wop group
• Heartbeats, song by The Knife
• Heartbeat (Paris Hilton song)
• Heartbeat (King Crimson song)
• Heartbeat (Buddy Holly song)
• Heartbeat (Big Black single)
• Heartbeat (Scouting for Girls song)
• A song by Red 7
• A song by Annie
• A song by Stacey Q also on the Nights Like This Album

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