Word family noun heart heartlessness heartiness adjective heartened ≠ disheartened heartening ≠ disheartening heartless hearty verb hearten ≠ dishearten adverb heartily heartlessly hearteningly ≠ dishearteningly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishheartheart1 /hɑːt $ hɑːrt/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 body organ [countable]HBBODY the organ in your chest which pumps blood through your body Regular exercise is good for the heart. Can you hear my heart beating? Her cheeks were hot and her heart was pounding. My heart raced. Were we going to land safely? Daniel had no history of heart problems. She suffers from a rare heart condition. His breathing and heart rate were now normal.2 emotions/love [countable]EMOTIONAL the part of you that feels strong emotions and feelings His heart was full of anger and grief. The plight of the refugees had tugged at the nation’s heart. The doctor had an extremely kind heart. She could hardly speak for the ache in her heart. It would break Kate’s heart (=make her extremely sad) to leave the lovely old house. He left the country with a heavy heart (=great sadness). Edith loved her boy with all her heart and soul. I was still pretty innocent then when it came to affairs of the heart (=matters relating to love and sex). a woman with a heart of gold (=very kind character) Sometimes I think he’s got a heart of stone (=very cruel character). I’m glad I followed my heart rather than my head for once. My father told me never to let my heart rule my head.kind-hearted/cold-hearted/hard-hearted etc (=having a kind, unkind, cruel etc character) He thinks of himself as a warm-hearted and caring human being.3 your chest [countable usually singular]BODY the part of your chest near your heart He put his hand on his heart.4 CFshape [countable] a shape used to represent a heart5 → from the (bottom of your) heart6 → in your heart (of hearts)7 important part of somethingMAIN [singular] the most important or central part of a problem, question etcthe heart of something difficult issues at the heart of science policy We must get to the heart of the problem. 8 encouragement [uncountable] confidence and courage This inspiring service gave us new heart. We mustn’t lose heart when people complain. We’ve got to take a bit of heart from the fact that we won.9 → at heart10 the centre of an area [countable]MIDDLE the middle part of an area furthest from the edgein the heart of something a house in the heart of Londonat the heart of something an old house at the heart of an ancient forest11 → close/dear to somebody’s heart12 → the hearts and minds of somebody13 → by heart14 → somebody’s heart sinks15 → with all your heart16 → take something to heart17 → somebody’s heart goes out to somebody18 card games a) [countable]DGC a heart shape printed in red on a playing card b) hearts [plural]DGC the suit (=set) of playing cards that have these shapes on them the ace of hearts c) [countable]DGC one of the cards in this set Have you got any hearts?19 → do something to your heart’s content20 → somebody’s heart misses/skips a beat21 → set your heart on something22 → a man/woman etc after my own heart23 → cry/sing etc your heart out24 → your heart’s desire/everything your heart could desire25 → not have the heart to do something26 → somebody’s heart isn’t in it27 → do something out of the goodness of your heart28 → take somebody to your heart29 vegetable [countable]HBPDF the firm middle part of some vegetables artichoke hearts30 → give/lose your heart to somebody31 → my heart was in my mouth32 → somebody’s heart is in the right place33 → it does your heart good to see/hear something34 → somebody’s heart leaps35 → be in good heart36 → have a heart!37 → know the way to somebody’s heart38 → my heart bleeds (for somebody) → a broken heart at broken2(9), → cross my heart at cross1(11), → have a change of heart at change2(1), → sick at heart at sick1(9), → strike at the heart of something at strike1(7), → wear your heart on your sleeve at wear1(8), → win somebody’s heart at win1(3)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: the organ in your chest which pumps blood through your bodyverbssomebody’s heart beatsHer heart was beating fast.somebody’s heart pounds/thuds/thumps (=it beats very strongly)He reached the top, his heart pounding.somebody’s heart races (=it beats very fast)Was there someone in the alley? Joe’s heart began to race.heart + NOUNheart trouble/problemsYou should not take this medication if you have heart problems.heart diseaseSmoking increases the risk of heart disease.a heart condition (=something wrong with your heart)The baby was born with a heart condition.somebody’s heart rate (=the number of times someone’s heart beats per minute)Your heart rate increases as you exercise.adjectiveshealthyEating oily fish can help maintain a healthy heart.a bad/weak heart (=an unhealthy heart)The effort proved too much for her weak heart. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: the part of you that feels strong emotions and feelingsadjectivesa good/kind heart (=a kind character)My father had a good heart.a big heart (=a kind and generous character)She may be only small, but she has a big heart.a soft heart (=a kind and sympathetic character)Julia’s soft heart had been touched by Minnie’s grief.a cold/hard heart (=used about someone who does not feel sympathy for other people)It takes a hard heart not to be moved by these images of suffering.a heavy heart (=feeling very sad)She made her way to the hospital with a heavy heart.a light heart (=feeling happy)Paul left for home with a light heart.a broken heart (=feeling very sad because of a problem in love)I wonder how many broken hearts Carlo was responsible for.verbsbreak somebody’s heart (=make someone feel very sad)It broke my heart to see him so sick.follow your heart (= do what your emotions want you to do)Go for it. Follow your heart. Who cares what everyone else thinks?somebody’s heart aches (=to feel very sad)It made his heart ache to look at herphrasesheart and soul (=all your feelings)She loved Peter with all her heart and soul.affairs of the heart (=matters relating to love)I had little experience of affairs of the heart.somebody’s heart rules their head (=someone makes decisions based on emotions rather than careful thought)He has never been one to let his heart rule his head.a heart of gold (=a very kind character)She was rather brisk in manner but with a heart of gold.a heart of stone (=a very cruel character)You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel sorry for them.be in good heart (=to be happy and confident)The team was in good heart, despite their loss this weekend.be sick at heart (=to feel very unhappy)He was too sick at heart to know what to say. Examples from the Corpus
heart• After visiting a heart specialist, Tom discovered she had heart valve damage, court papers said.• We have your interests at heart.• And her heart gave just a little kick of worry as she turned to Ted Morgan again.• Doctors said that while his heart was fine, his vascular system had given up the ghost.• My heart was beating so fast I thought it would burst.• Therefore I have no heart, and can not love.• It lacks light and shade, the conviction and theatrical intensity that drives words straight into people's hearts.• Money always lies at the heart of our fights.• It was a Series that played at the heart of the modern entertainment dilemma.• Eating too many fatty foods is bad for the heart.• Let's stop talking about irrelevant issues, and get to the heart of the matter.• This new book gets to the heart of the controversy over nuclear power.• Put your hand on your heart and repeat after me.heart rate• Long-term, chronic anger also means increases in blood cholesterol and heart rates, and a decrease in immunity.• Prolonged high levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart rate tax the cardiovascular system.• Pulse oximetry was used to monitor oxygen saturation and heart rate.• Exercise promotes beneficial changes in the body. Heart rate and blood pressure are lowered at rest and at exercise.• Like digestion, heart rate, respiration, or perspiration, sleep is an involuntary function of the autonomic nervous system.• Isoproterenol to increase heart rate can be tried cautiously until pacing is instituted.• In this way heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen consumption, and muscle tension all reduce without conscious effort.• After a minute of this, your heart rate has slowed by 20 percent.kind-hearted/cold-hearted/hard-hearted etc• She would regularly pour out her heart to the kind-hearted friend who she has known since her teenage days.get to the heart of• Only by changing themselves can organizations get back into the game and get to the heart of things.• Reflection gets to the heart of the matter, the truth of things.• These questions are important ones, because they get to the heart of our concern about higher education.• Eckert wants to get to the heart of the problem, so it can be prevented in the future.take ... heart• Cambridge can take heart from Goldie's substantial victory over Isis.• But the communicators can take heart.• However the Tories, who have gone into coalition only in times of great national danger, can take heart from history.• Having thus cleverly disarmed his remarks, he effectively placed the onus for taking them to heart squarely on Robby.• The association has taken heart from a recent prosecution which saw one offender fined £20,000.• Martin has taken to heart the always-good advice to write about what you know.• He slipped out, and soon others took heart in his boldness and slipped out too.• If progress seems agonizingly slow, take heart.at the heart of something• Government rules on the provision of services are at the heart of the way societies treat their citizens.• Between them, these statements identify three characteristics at the heart of educational research.• And suddenly he was standing in an open-air courtyard at the heart of the house.• Though selection of countries lies at the heart of comparison, selection without reflection may lead to serious problems of inference.• Self-discovery lies at the heart of changing skills and behaviors.• Supporters claim the policy lies at the heart of their efforts to impose financial hardships on the Castro regime.• That is the issue which lies at the heart of Mr. Thorpe's case.• We want to set up an event that will make it appear they have struck at the heart of our government.heartheart2 verb [transitive] informal to like something or someone very much – used especially on the Internet and in magazines We heart this cute little dress.Origin heart Old English heorte 