Added 9 October 2026
pulse
/pʌls/ noun
In Latin: pulsus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pulse at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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(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
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The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart.
he could feel the beat of her heart
- The rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health.
verb
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Expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically.
The baby's heart was pulsating again after the surgeon massaged it
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Produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses.
pulse waves
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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, strik.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)