- [usually singular] the regular beat of the heart as it sends blood around the body, that can be felt in different places, especially on the inside part of the wrist; the number of times the heart beats in a minute
- a strong/weak pulse
- an abnormally high pulse rate
- The doctor took/felt my pulse.
- Fear sent her pulse racing (= made it beat very quickly).
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodyc1- My at-rest pulse rate is usually about 80 beats per minute.
- She felt her pulse quicken as she recognized the voice.
- He reached in through the driver's broken window and checked for a pulse.
- There was little to quicken the pulse in his dull routine.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fast
- racing
- rapid
- …
- check
- feel
- take
- …
- beat
- quicken
- race
- …
- rate
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- a strong regular beat in music synonym rhythm
- the throbbing pulse of the drums
- a single short increase in the amount of light, sound or electricity produced by a machine, etc.
- pulse waves
- sound pulses
- pulses[plural] the seeds of some plants that are eaten as food, such as peas and lentils
- Pulses are a good source of protein.
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 late Middle English: from Latin pulsus ‘beating’, from pellere ‘to drive, beat’. noun sense 4 Middle English: from Old French pols, from Latin puls ‘porridge of meal or pulse’; related to pollen.
Idioms
See pulse in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee pulse in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishhave/keep your finger on the pulse (of something)
- to always be aware of the most recent developments in a particular situation
Check pronunciation:
pulse