HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
n. 1. The rhythmical throbbing of arteries produced by the regular contractions of the heart, especially as palpated at the wrist or in the neck. 2. a. A regular or rhythmical beating. b. A single beat or throb. 3. Physics a. A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity: a pulse of current; a pulse of radiation. b. Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity. 4. The perceptible emotions or sentiments of a group of people: "a man who had ... his finger on the pulse of America" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.) v. pulsed, puls·ing, puls·es v.intr. 1. To pulsate; beat: "The nation pulsed with music and proclamation, with rages and moral pretensions" (Lance Morrow). 2. Physics To undergo a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by brief, sudden changes in a quantity. v.tr. Idiom: To chop in short bursts, as in a food processor: The cook pulsed the leeks and added some coriander. take the pulse of To judge the mood or views of (a political electorate, for example): The politician was able to take the pulse of the grass-roots voters. [Middle English pous, puls, from Old French pous, pulz, from Latin pulsus, from past participle of pellere, to beat; see pel-5 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
pulse 2  (pŭls)
Share:
Tweet n. 1. The edible seeds of certain pod-bearing plants, such as lentils and chickpeas. 2. A plant yielding these seeds. [Middle English pols, puls, from Latin puls, pottage of meal and pulse, probably ultimately from Greek poltos.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
