pulse

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: the regular expansion of an artery caused by the ejection of blood into the arterial system by the contractions of the heart
b
: the palpable beat resulting from such pulse as detected in a superficial artery
also : the number of individual beats in a specified time period (such as one minute)
a resting pulse of 70
2
a
: rhythmical beating, vibrating, or sounding
b
: beat, throb
3
a
: underlying sentiment or opinion or an indication of it
b
4
a
: a transient variation of a quantity (such as electric current or voltage) whose value is normally constant
b(1)
: an electromagnetic wave or modulation thereof of brief duration
(2)
: a brief disturbance of pressure in a medium
especially : a sound wave or short train of sound waves
5
: a dose of a substance especially when applied over a short period of time
pulses of intravenous methylprednisolone

pulse

2 of 3

verb

pulsed; pulsing

intransitive verb

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : throb

transitive verb

1
: to drive by or as if by a pulsation
2
: to cause to pulsate
3
a
: to produce or modulate (something, such as electromagnetic waves) in the form of pulses
pulsed waves
b
: to cause (an apparatus) to produce pulses
pulser noun

pulse

3 of 3

noun (2)

: the edible seeds of various crops (such as peas, beans, or lentils) of the legume family
also : a plant yielding pulse

Examples of pulse in a Sentence

Verb He could feel the blood pulsing through his veins. Dance music pulsed from the speakers. The city pulses with life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Little darts of flute and clarinet puncture the pulse of a modulated oscillator, with cello and violin casting long sentimental shadows. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 One strategy, called optical parametric oscillation, involves bouncing beams of laser light within a crystal, resulting in light organizing itself into pulses of coherent, stable waves. IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2024 Distant sirens and horns and the whoosh of the nearby freeway provide the accompanying pulse. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Carlito and Omar pretended to check Leslie’s pulse before cradling her head. Jared Lemus, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2024 Jackie had a pulse when she was finally brought out of the classroom but died later that day. Rachel Clarke, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 Fortunately, emergency responders detected a pulse in Lola. Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 This drumming produces rapid pulses in high and low frequencies. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 28 Feb. 2024 The show also isn’t especially good at putting its finger on any particular pulse. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
Ten percent had symptoms of migraines, which can include throbbing or pulsing pain, nausea or sensitivity to light. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024 Those boots then pulsed with a variety of lights at opportune times during the concert, to provide a dizzying light display throughout the crowd. Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 The first thing to understand is that the pain and pulsing sensation associated with migraine attacks vary in intensity and sensation. Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2024 The color seemed to have changed from a milky white to a more transparent, pulsing yellow that rippled from the crown to the middle, like the skin on the inside of my wrists. Sanaë Lemoine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Director Elyse Edelman's staging, aided by Jayne Regan Pink's movement design and soccer skills coaching from Laila Eslami, pulses with energy. Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2024 This cool water jellyfish is lethargic and spends most of its time motionless or slowly pulsing its yellow yolk-like bell while drifting through the ocean. Amiah Taylor, Discover Magazine, 10 Jan. 2024 Perhaps before a crowd, pulsing to chants and drumbeats, these oracle-like figures hunched over a heap of radiant red powder. Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 The symbolism of those eras from the 1950s to the 1990s — resistance, then hope, then sectarian turmoil — pulsed through much of Dr. Lazreg’s research. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pulse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English pous, pouce, pulse, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French pous, polz, puls, borrowed from Latin pulsus "action of beating or striking, beat, stroke, beat of the heart" ("pulse" in phrase pulsus venārum/artēriārum, literally, "beating of the veins/arteries"), noun of action from pellere "to beat against, push, strike, rouse, expel, repulse," of uncertain origin

Note: The etymology of pellere is problematic, because it lacks an obvious formal and semantic counterpart in other Indo-European languages. A traditional explanation derives it from a base *pel-d-, with the *-d- a present-tense formative marking an action reaching a definite termination (thus Ernout and Meillet in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine, 8. édition, 1985; cf. tender entry 3). A hypothetically related form would be Greek pállō, pállein "to poise (a missile before it is thrown), brandish, swing, shake" (Epic aorist pêlai, 3rd singular passive pálto), though semantically the comparison is weak. A base *pel-d- would correctly produce the past participle pulsus (from *poltos < *pl̥d-t-os); however the frequentative verb pultāre "to strike repeatedly," attested in Plautus alongside pulsāre, suggests that the original past participle may have been *pultus. According to an alternative hypothesis, pellere is descended from an Indo-European base *pelh2- "approach, draw near," seen in Greek pílnamai "I draw near to, make contact with," 3rd singular aorist plêto, verbal adjective in the negated form áplētos, áplātos "unapproachable, monstrous." (The assumed semantic shift is from "approach, touch" to "push, strike.") Both Latin and Greek verbs would continue a present with nasal infix *pl̥-ne-h2-/pl̥n-h2-. These presumably are seen also in Umbrian ampentu, apentu, ampetu, 3rd singular imperative (allegedly "touches, brings near," with the prefix an- "up, upon," but the meaning of this verb, describing the first action of an animal sacrifice in the Iguvine Tables, is quite uncertain); Old Irish ˑella in adˑella "(s/he) visits, approaches," doˑella "(s/he) turns aside, goes astray" (< *φal-na-?; e-vocalism is secondary) and eblaid "(s/he) will drive/impel," suppletive future to aigid "(s/he) drives" (< *pi-plā-); Middle Welsh el, 3rd person singular present subjunctive of mynet "to go" (< *pel-ase/o-). Note that alongside pellere there is a group of first-conjugation verbs with the same base pell- that occur only with prefixes: appellāre "to speak to, address, name," compellāre "to address, appeal to, rebuke," interpellāre "to interrupt" (see appeal entry 2, compellation, interpellate). According to P. Schrijver (The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Latin, Rodopi, 1991, pp. 408-12), these are a relic of an original nasal present *pel-n-a-C (< *pl̥-ne-h2- with full-grade vocalism) given a thematic suffix *-i̯e/o- in derivatives. These verbs have the common underlying sense "to address (positively or negatively)," which fits fairly well with the hypothetical meaning "approach" of the base *pelh2-. For English borrowings of prefixed forms of pellere see compel, dispel, expel, impel, propel, repel.

Noun (2)

Middle English puls, probably from Anglo-French puuiz gruel, from Latin pult-, puls, probably from Greek poltos

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pulse was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near pulse

Cite this Entry

“Pulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pulse. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pulse

1 of 3 noun
: the edible seeds of several crops (as peas, beans, or lentils) of the legume family
also : a plant yielding pulse

pulse

2 of 3 noun
1
: a regular throbbing caused in the arteries by the contractions of the heart
2
a
: rhythmical beating or throbbing
3
a
: a brief variation of a quantity (as electrical current) whose value is normally constant
b
: an electromagnetic wave or a sound wave lasting only a short length of time

pulse

3 of 3 verb
pulsed; pulsing
: to display a pulse or pulsation
the veins in his forehead pulsed

Medical Definition

pulse

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a regularly recurrent wave of distension in arteries that results from the progress through an artery of blood injected into the arterial system at each contraction of the ventricles of the heart
b
: the palpable beat resulting from such pulse as detected in a superficial artery (as the radial artery)
a very soft pulse
also : the number of such beats in a specified period of time (as one minute)
a resting pulse of 70
2
3
a
: a transient variation of a quantity (as electric current or voltage) whose value is normally constant
often used of current variations produced artificially and repeated either with a regular period or according to some code
b
: an electromagnetic wave or modulation thereof having brief duration
c
: a brief disturbance transmitted through a medium
4
: a dose of a substance especially when applied over a short period of time
therapy with pulses of intravenous methylprednisolone

pulse

2 of 2 verb
pulsed; pulsing

intransitive verb

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation

transitive verb

1
: to cause to pulsate
2
a
: to produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of pulses
pulsed waves
b
: to cause (an apparatus) to produce pulses

More from Merriam-Webster on pulse

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