Link Centre Dictionary

pulse

UK/pʌls/ US/pʌls/ common literary
noun (4) verb (3)

noun

1.

(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)

  • “the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star”
Synonyms
2.

the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

  • “he could feel the beat of her heart”
Synonyms
3.

the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person''s health

Synonyms
4.

edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants (peas or beans or lentils etc.)

verb

1.

expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically

  • “The baby”
Synonyms
2.

produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses

  • “pulse waves”
  • “a transmitter pulsed by an electronic tube”
Synonyms
3.

drive by or as if by pulsation

  • “A soft breeze pulsed the air”

Origin

From Late Middle English pulse, Middle English pous, pouse (“regular beat of arteries, pulse; heartbeat; place on the body where a pulse is detectable; beat (of a musical instrument); energy, vitality”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman puls, pous, pus, and Middle French pouls, poulz, pous [and other forms], Old French pous, pulz (“regular beat of arteries; place on the body where a pulse is detectable”) (modern French pouls), and from their etymon Latin pulsus (“beat, impulse, pulse, stroke; regular beat of arteries or the heart”), from pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to banish, eject, expel; to set in motion; to strike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat, strike; to drive; to push, thrust”)) + -sus (a variant of -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs)).

Phrases

  • a pussy and a pulse
  • chirped-pulse amplification
  • electromagnetic pulse
  • finger on the pulse
  • have one's finger on the pulse
  • have one's fingers on the pulse
  • nuclear magnetic pulse
  • nuclear-pulse rocket

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

Causes

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.