as in minutes
a very small space of time
I'd accept a job offer from that company in a heartbeat
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Recent Examples of heartbeats
Diastolic blood pressure is the bottom number on a blood pressure reading, which represents the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.
—
Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 20 Jan. 2026
The ability to continuously track a patient’s blood pressure, glucose or heartbeats can help doctors and caregivers keep them stable and avert crises.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 18 Jan. 2026
The sound design of his kick drums deserves special mention; rather than simple heartbeats or mere rhythmic anchors, his bass drums are dynamic agents, diving in pitch across their long sustain and decay.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026
One of the main heartbeats of the defense, Dean made a midseason comeback from knee surgery.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The new approach, called Pulse-Fi, uses an AI model to analyze heartbeats to estimate heart rate in real time from up to 10 feet away.
—Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Dec. 2025
However, in humans, cardiac hypertrophy can cause serious symptoms like shortness of breath and chest pain, or in severe cases, irregular heartbeats or sudden death.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
The Science Behind Stress Synchronization A study published in October 2024 found that the heart rate variability (the slight fluctuations between heartbeats) of a dog and its owner can mirror each other.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Three heartbeats, one team As a competitor new to the scene, Seamans says one of the most surprising aspects for him was the powerful connection between horse, rider and skier.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 20 Jan. 2026
The ability to continuously track a patient’s blood pressure, glucose or heartbeats can help doctors and caregivers keep them stable and avert crises.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 18 Jan. 2026
The sound design of his kick drums deserves special mention; rather than simple heartbeats or mere rhythmic anchors, his bass drums are dynamic agents, diving in pitch across their long sustain and decay.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026
One of the main heartbeats of the defense, Dean made a midseason comeback from knee surgery.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The new approach, called Pulse-Fi, uses an AI model to analyze heartbeats to estimate heart rate in real time from up to 10 feet away.
—Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Dec. 2025
However, in humans, cardiac hypertrophy can cause serious symptoms like shortness of breath and chest pain, or in severe cases, irregular heartbeats or sudden death.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
The Science Behind Stress Synchronization A study published in October 2024 found that the heart rate variability (the slight fluctuations between heartbeats) of a dog and its owner can mirror each other.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Three heartbeats, one team As a competitor new to the scene, Seamans says one of the most surprising aspects for him was the powerful connection between horse, rider and skier.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartbeats
Noun
-
The driver then drove into the city of Wheat Ridge and allegedly crashed into a Honda Pilot near Pierce Street and West 32nd Avenue several minutes later before continuing on.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Stir; season lightly with salt (this will help draw out water from the mushrooms) and cook, undisturbed, until golden, about 5 minutes.—
Hana Asbrink,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But Texas responded with a jump shot by Booker and layups from Harmon and Carlton in a span of 37 seconds.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Rutgers star guard Tariq Francis, who already had 26 points, dribbled around half court with seconds to go.—
Sean Campbell,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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One of the bloodiest moments in that revolution, which deposed the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and led to the rise of the incumbent Islamist regime, occurred on September 8, 1978.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Pretti was being held on the ground when an officer appeared to remove a gun from Pretti's waistband just moments before another agent fired the first shot.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heartbeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartbeats. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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