pulse

noun

(physiology) 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.

(physiology) The nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health.

(figuratively) A beat or throb; also, a repeated sequence of such beats or throbs.

(figuratively) 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.

(uncountable) Annual leguminous plants (such as beans, lentils, and peas) yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; (countable) such a plant; a legume.

(uncountable) Edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants, especially in a mature, dry condition; (countable) a specific kind of such a grain or seed.

(chiefly biology, chemistry) An (increased) amount of a substance (such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.

(cooking, chiefly attributively) 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.

(music, prosody) The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse; also, a repeated sequence of such beats.

(transport) A timed, coordinated connection, when multiple public transportation vehicles are at a hub at the same time so that passengers can flexibly connect between them.

(physics) A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves, etc.

(physics) (also electronics) A brief increase in the strength of an electrical signal; an impulse.

(physics) Synonym of autosoliton (“a stable solitary localized structure that arises in nonlinear spatially extended dissipative systems due to mechanisms of self-organization”).

verb

(transitive, also figuratively) To emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves.

(transitive, chiefly biology, chemistry) To give to (something, especially a cell culture) an (increased) amount of a substance, such as a drug or an isotopic label, over a short time.

(transitive, cooking) To operate a food processor on (some ingredient) in short bursts, to break it up without liquidizing it.

To apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to (something).

(intransitive, figuratively) Of an activity, place, or thing: to bustle with energy and liveliness; to pulsate.

(transitive, electronics, physics)

To manipulate (an electric current, electromagnetic wave, etc.) so that it is emitted in pulses.

(intransitive, chiefly figuratively and literary) To expand and contract repeatedly, like an artery when blood is flowing though it, or the heart; to beat, to throb, to vibrate, to pulsate.

Roots

pellopuls- · Latin · drive, push

Synonyms for pulse

pulsationn heartbeatn pulsatev throbn palpitationn beatv systolen palpitatingadj rhythmn pitapat arrhythmian

Synonyms & related words for pulse

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of pulse — including pulsation, heartbeat, pulsate, throb, palpitation, beat. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to pulse

Explore words related to pulse — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include pulsimeter, sphygmograph, sphygmic, pulsatile, impulse, pulsatory, dicrotic, sferics. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for pulse

Common synonyms for pulse include pulsation, heartbeat, pulsate, throb, palpitation, beat, systole, palpitating — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does pulse come from?

The word pulse breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root puls-, from Latin pello (“drive, push”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.