pulse
/pʌls/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.06 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them; the qualitative nature of this beat.
noun
The rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health.
noun
The focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; also, the feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place; the heartbeat.
noun
An (increased) amount of a substance (such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.
noun
A setting on a food processor which causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously, in order to break up ingredients without liquidizing them; also, a use of this setting.
noun
A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves, etc.
Example Sentences
- "Her pulse was thready and weak."
- "Her pulse was 110 at 8 a.m."
- "[A] Pulſe which is ſlow and large denotes ſufficient remains of ſtrength, tenſion, and thickneſs of the fibres of the heart and arteries, and a viſcid and tenacious blood. All unequal Pulſes are very bad, ſince they denote that there is neither a due influx of the ſpirits, nor a proper and equal mixture of the blood; but particularly ſuch Pulſes always prognoſticate unlucky events, when they are weak."
- "[M]y experience is that men may enjoy better health, do more work, have clearer brains, a steadier pulse, and go on to old age better without alcohol than with."
- "When the ear receives any ſimple ſound, it is ſtruck by a ſingle pulſe of the air, which makes the ear-drum and the other membranous parts vibrate according to the nature and ſpecies of the ſtroke."
- "I roved at random through the town, / [...] / And caught once more the distant shout, / The measured pulse of racing oars / Among the willows; [...]"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pʌls/
- British English: /pʌls/