heart
/hɑːt/ (bre, ipa) · [hˈɑrt] /hɑːrt/ (ame, ipa) · [hˈɑrt] /ˈhärt/ (ame, mw)
heart — noun
- heartsingular
- heartsplural
1. the body part in the chest whose steady beating pushes blood through the whole b
the body part in the chest whose steady beating pushes blood through the whole body
After the race, Michael pressed a hand to his heart and laughed.
press a hand to your heart after exercise
The nurse listened to Jessica's heart before checking her temperature.
listen to someone's heart during an exam
Fear made Yara's heart beat faster as the plane hit rough air.
Doctors found a small hole in Jack's heart during the checkup.
文法句型
have a strong heart
heart + beat
用法筆記
Used for the physical organ. When you mean feelings or character, use sense 2 instead.
常見錯誤
2. the inner part of a person linked with feelings, love, kindness, and character
the inner part of a person linked with feelings, love, kindness, and character
Nia has a warm heart and always notices when a classmate looks upset.
have a warm heart
In his heart, Otis knew he should apologise before dinner.
in your heart = deep down
The film touched Apinya's heart because it reminded her of her grandmother.
Years of care slowly softened the hard heart of the old landlord.
文法句型
have a kind heart
in your heart
用法筆記
This sense covers feelings and moral character together. Distinguish it from sense 5, which is about courage in difficulty.
常見錯誤
3. the place or point where something matters most or runs deepest
the place or point where something matters most or runs deepest
The old market still stands in the heart of the city.
the heart of + place
Trust sits at the heart of a good friendship.
at the heart of + abstract noun
Reporters tried to get to the heart of the dispute over school fees.
Rice remains at the heart of many family meals in Taiwan.
文法句型
the heart of + noun
用法筆記
Often followed by of. It can refer to a physical centre or the key point in a discussion.
4. the firm middle part of a leafy vegetable such as a cabbage or lettuce
the firm middle part of a leafy vegetable such as a cabbage or lettuce
Lara cut the hard heart out of the cabbage before slicing the leaves.
cut the heart out of a cabbage
The chef grilled the lettuce hearts with lemon and salt.
lettuce hearts
Grandpa likes the sweet heart of a Chinese cabbage best.
Only the pale heart of the artichoke was soft enough to eat.
文法句型
the heart of a lettuce
lettuce hearts
用法筆記
This is a food sense. It refers to the tight inner leaves, not the important part sense in 3.
5. courage, hope, or determination that keeps someone going in a hard situation
courage, hope, or determination that keeps someone going in a hard situation
Even after the shop fire, Feng showed heart and reopened two months later.
show heart in a crisis
The team played with real heart after losing their captain early.
play with heart
Jack may be small, but he has plenty of heart in a fight.
After the first rejection, Anjali lost heart for a day, then started again.
文法句型
show heart
play with heart
用法筆記
Often used in sports, struggle, and recovery contexts. It is about spirit under pressure, not about kindness or love.
6. a shape with two rounded tops and a point below, often used as a sign of love
a shape with two rounded tops and a point below, often used as a sign of love
Otis drew a red heart beside Lara's name on the notebook.
draw a heart
The bakery sold cookies in the shape of little hearts.
in the shape of hearts
A small gold heart hung from Apinya's silver bracelet.
Children covered the poster with paper hearts on Valentine's Day.
文法句型
draw a heart
heart shape
用法筆記
This sense is about the symbol or outline. Use sense 7 or 8 for playing cards.
7. the red suit in playing cards shown with a heart symbol
the red suit in playing cards shown with a heart symbol
Michael led hearts because he had no clubs left.
lead hearts in a card game
In bridge, Jessica feels safer when hearts are trumps.
hearts are trumps
The children sorted the cards into spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
Yara bid three hearts after counting her strong red suit.
文法句型
hearts are trumps
lead hearts
用法筆記
Usually plural when naming the suit itself. Distinguish it from sense 8, which means one card from that suit.
8. a playing card that belongs to the hearts suit
a playing card that belongs to the hearts suit
Jack won the trick with the ace of hearts.
the ace of hearts
Feng slipped a queen of hearts from the deck for the magic trick.
a queen of hearts
Only one heart was missing from the hand that Nia picked up.
Apinya smiled when the dealer turned over the ten of hearts.
文法句型
the ace of hearts
draw a heart
用法筆記
This means one card. Use sense 7 when you mean the whole suit.
heart — verb
- heartpresent simple I / you / we / they
- hearts3rd person singular
- hearting-ing form
- heartedpast simple
1. to show online that you really like something by pressing a heart symbol, or to
to show online that you really like something by pressing a heart symbol, or to say playfully that you love it
Thousands of users hearted the rescue video within an hour.
heart + video online
Jessica hearted every photo from Lara's graduation trip.
heart + photo
I heart this little tea shop by the station.
Fans kept hearting the singer's late-night message after midnight.
文法句型
heart + photo/post/message
I heart + noun phrase
用法筆記
Strongly informal and common in online or playful speech. It usually appears with posts, photos, songs, places, or brands rather than in formal writing.