wear one heart sleeve


the center of the total personality, especially with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion: In your heart you know I'm an honest man.
the center of emotion, especially as contrasted to the head as the center of the intellect: His head told him not to fall in love, but his heart had the final say.
capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection: His heart moved him to help the needy.
the vital or essential part; core: the heart of the matter.
a person (used especially in expressions of praise or affection): dear heart.
a card of the suit bearing such figures.
(used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Hearts is trump. Hearts are trump.
(used with a singular verb) a game in which the players try to avoid taking tricks containing this suit.
Botany. the core of a tree; the solid central part without sap or albumen.
Also called core. Ropemaking. a strand running through the center of a rope, the other strands being laid around it.
verb (used with object)
to fix in the heart.
to encourage.
Informal. to like or enjoy very much; love: I heart Chicago.
at heart, in reality; fundamentally; basically: At heart she is a romantic.
by heart, by memory; word-for-word: They knew the song by heart.
cross one's heart, to maintain the truth of one's statement; affirm one's integrity: That's exactly what they told me, I cross my heart!
do someone's heart good, to give happiness or pleasure to; delight: It does my heart good to see you again.
eat one's heart out, to have sorrow or longing dominate one's emotions; grieve inconsolably: The children are eating their hearts out over their lost dog.
heart and soul, enthusiastically; fervently; completely: They entered heart and soul into the spirit of the holiday.
in one's heart of hearts, in one's private thoughts or feelings; deep within one: He knew, in his heart of hearts, that the news would be bad.
near one's heart, of great interest or concern to one: It is a cause that is very near his heart. Also, close to one's heart.
set one's heart against, to be unalterably opposed to: She had set her heart against selling the statue. Also, have one's heart set against.
set one's heart on, to wish for intensely; determine on: She has set her heart on going to Europe after graduation. Also, have one's heart set on.
take heart, to regain one's courage; become heartened: Her son's death was a great blow, but she eventually took heart, convinced that God had willed it.
take/lay to heart,
to think seriously about; concern oneself with: He took to heart his father's advice.
to be deeply affected by; grieve over: She was prone to take criticism too much to heart.
to one's heart's content, until one is satisfied; as much or as long as one wishes: The children played in the snow to their heart's content.
wear one's heart on one's sleeve,
to be liable to fall in love; fall in love easily: How lovely to be young and wear our hearts on our sleeves!
with all one's heart,
with earnestness or zeal.
with willingness; cordially: She welcomed the visitors with all her heart.

before 900; Middle English herte, Old English heorte; cognate with Dutch hart, German Herz, Old Norse hjarta, Gothic hairtō; akin to Latin cor (see cordial, courage), Greek kardía (see cardio-); def 19, from the use of the stylized heart symbol to represent love

hart, heart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Cite This Source Link To wear one heart sleeve
World English Dictionary
heart (hɑːt)
1.  the hollow muscular organ in vertebrates whose contractions propel the blood through the circulatory system. In mammals it consists of a right and left atrium and a right and left ventricleRelated: cardiac
2.  the corresponding organ or part in invertebrates
3.  this organ considered as the seat of life and emotions, esp love
4.  emotional mood or disposition: a happy heart; a change of heart
5.  tenderness or pity: you have no heart
6.  courage or spirit; bravery
7.  the inmost or most central part of a thing: the heart of the city
8.  the most important or vital part: the heart of the matter
9.  (of vegetables such as cabbage) the inner compact part
10.  the core of a tree
11.  the part nearest the heart of a person; breast: she held him to her heart
12.  a dearly loved person: usually used as a term of address: dearest heart
13.  a conventionalized representation of the heart, having two rounded lobes at the top meeting in a point at the bottom
14.  a.  a red heart-shaped symbol on a playing card
 b.  a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl.) the suit of cards so marked
15.  a fertile condition in land, conducive to vigorous growth in crops or herbage (esp in the phrase in good heart)
16.  after one's own heart appealing to one's own disposition, taste, or tendencies
17.  at heart in reality or fundamentally
18.  break one's heart, break someone's heart to grieve or cause to grieve very deeply, esp through love
19.  by heart by committing to memory
20.  cross my heart!, cross my heart and hope to die! I promise!
21.  eat one's heart out to brood or pine with grief or longing
22.  from one's heart, from the bottom of one's heart very sincerely or deeply
23.  have a heart! be kind or merciful
24.  (usually used with a negative) have one's heart in it to have enthusiasm for something
25.  have one's heart in one's boots to be depressed or down-hearted
26.  have one's heart in one's mouth, have one's heart in one's throat to be full of apprehension, excitement, or fear
27.  have one's heart in the right place
 a.  to be kind, thoughtful, or generous
 b.  to mean well
28.  (usually used with a negative) have the heart to have the necessary will, callousness, etc (to do something): I didn't have the heart to tell him
29.  heart and soul absolutely; completely
30.  heart of hearts the depths of one's conscience or emotions
31.  heart of oak a brave person
32.  in one's heart secretly; fundamentally
33.  lose heart to become despondent or disillusioned (over something)
34.  lose one's heart to to fall in love with
35.  near to one's heart, close to one's heart cherished or important
36.  set one's heart on to have as one's ambition to obtain; covet
37.  take heart to become encouraged
38.  take to heart to take seriously or be upset about
39.  to one's heart's content as much as one wishes
40.  wear one's heart on one's sleeve to show one's feelings openly
41.  with all one's heart, with one's whole heart very willingly
42.  (intr) (of vegetables) to form a heart
43.  an archaic word for hearten
Related: cardiac
[Old English heorte; related to Old Norse hjarta, Gothic hairtō, Old High German herza, Latin cor, Greek kardia, Old Irish cride]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

O.E. heorte, from P.Gmc. *khertan- (cf. O.S. herta, O.N. hjarta, Du. hart, O.H.G. herza, Ger. Herz, Goth. hairto), from PIE *kerd- "heart" (cf. Gk. kardia, L. cor, O.Ir. cride, Welsh craidd, Hittite kir, Lith. irdis, Rus. serdce "heart," Breton kreiz "middle," O.C.S. sreda "middle"). Spelling with -ea-
is c.1500, by analogy of pronunciation with stream, heat, etc., but remained when pronunciation shifted. Most of the figurative senses were present in O.E., including "intellect, memory," now only in by heart. Hearty is late 14c.; heart-rending is from 1680s. Heartburn is mid-13c. Heart-strings (late 15c.) was originally literal, in old anatomy theory "the tendons and nerves that brace the heart." Heartland first recorded 1904 in geo-political writings of H.J. MacKinder.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

heart (härt)

  1. The chambered, muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.

  2. A similarly functioning structure in invertebrates.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
heart   (härt)  Pronunciation Key 

(click for larger image in new window)

  1. The hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the body of a vertebrate animal by contracting and relaxing. In humans and other mammals, it has four chambers, consisting of two atria and two ventricles. The right side of the heart collects blood with low oxygen levels from the veins and pumps it to the lungs. The left side receives blood with high oxygen levels from the lungs and pumps it into the aorta, which carries it to the arteries of the body. The heart in other vertebrates functions similarly but often has fewer chambers.

  2. A similar but simpler organ in invertebrate animals.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

heart definition

The hollow muscular organ that is the center of the circulatory system. The heart pumps blood throughout the intricate system of blood vessels in the body.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

Heart definition


Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2014 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature