Heart is a noun with three core meanings: (1) the muscular organ in your chest that pumps blood around the body; (2) the centre of a person's emotions, feelings, and character; (3) the most important or central part of something. It also appears in the common phrase by heart, meaning from memory.
What Does Heart Mean?
Heart is one of the oldest and most versatile words in the English language. Its Old English form heorte shares a root with Latin cor (seen in core, cordial, and accord) and Greek kardia (seen in cardiac and cardiogram). The word has been central to English for over a thousand years.
At its most literal, the heart is the fist-sized muscle in the left-centre of your chest that keeps you alive by circulating blood. In everyday speech, though, heart is used far more often in figurative senses: your emotional life, your courage, your compassion, and your deepest feelings all live in your metaphorical heart.
The third sense — the most important part — appears in phrases such as the heart of the matter, the heart of the city, and the heart of the problem. Here, heart is synonymous with core or centre. Understanding all three senses is essential for reading English naturally, since context alone tells you which meaning applies.
Etymology
Old English heorte (before 900 AD) descended from Proto-Germanic *hertô, which is cognate with Old High German herza, Gothic hairtō, and Old Norse hjarta. The Proto-Indo-European root *ḱerd- also produced Latin cor / cordis and Greek kardia. This gives English two parallel families: Germanic (heart, heartfelt, wholehearted) and Latinate/Greek (cardiac, cordial, accord, courage — which ultimately derives from Latin cor).
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level & usage note |
|---|---|
| My heart beats fast when I run. | A2 — literal, anatomical sense |
| She learned the poem by heart. | B1 — fixed phrase: from memory |
| He has a very kind heart and always helps his neighbours. | B1 — figurative: emotional character |
| The talks finally got to the heart of the dispute after three days of negotiation. | B2 — figurative: the central issue |
| Despite her misgivings, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the project. | C1 — compound adverb derived from heart |
Collocations
| Collocation | Meaning / example |
|---|---|
| broken heart | great sadness from loss or rejection — She was devastated by the broken heart he left her with. |
| heart attack | sudden, serious medical event when blood flow to the heart is blocked — He suffered a heart attack at 55. |
| heart rate | the number of heartbeats per minute — Exercise increases your heart rate. |
| from the bottom of my heart | with complete sincerity — Thank you from the bottom of my heart. |
| by heart | from memory — He knows all the capitals by heart. |
| change of heart | a reversal of opinion or feeling — She had a change of heart and decided to stay. |
| set your heart on | want something very much — He set his heart on becoming a doctor. |
| take heart | feel encouraged — Take heart — things will improve. |
| lose heart | become discouraged — Don't lose heart after one setback. |
| heart of the matter | the most important or central aspect — Let's get to the heart of the matter. |
Usage Notes
Three Senses — Three Registers
Keep the three core senses distinct in your writing:
- Literal / medical — heart disease, heart rate, heart surgery. Use in factual or health contexts.
- Emotional / character — kind heart, brave heart, from the heart. Very common in literature, everyday speech, and compliments.
- Core / centre — heart of the city, heart of the problem. Useful in academic and professional writing as a synonym for core or essence.
British English favours wholehearted (one word). The phrases take heart and lose heart are complete verb phrases — do not add an object: say take heart from this news, not take a heart.
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
I know this song from heart.
I know this song by heart. (the fixed phrase is by heart, not from heart)
She is very brave-hearted, she has a lot of courage of heart.
She is very brave-hearted. / She has a lot of courage. (do not mix the two; courage of heart is not standard)
The heart of problem is the lack of funding.
The heart of the problem is the lack of funding. (always use the definite article before heart of the)