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heartbeat
6 dictionary results for: heartbeat
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
heart·beat       [hahrt-beet] Pronunciation Key
–noun Physiology.
a pulsation of the heart, including one complete systole and diastole.

[Origin: 1840–50; heart + beat]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
heart·beat       (härt'bēt')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A single complete pulsation of the heart.
  2. A vital force or driving impulse: Broadway is the heartbeat of the New York City theater world.
  3. An instant: The police arrived at the scene in a heartbeat.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
heartbeat

noun
1. the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart" [syn: pulse
2. a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash" 
3. an animating or vital unifying force; "New York is the commercial heartbeat of America" 

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

heartbeat heart·beat (härt'bēt')
n.
A single complete pulsation of the heart.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

heartbeat
1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected.
2. A periodic synchronisation signal used by software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic interrupt.
3. The "natural" oscillation frequency of a computer's clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's clock rate.
4. A signal emitted at regular intervals by software to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat. See also breath-of-life packet, watchdog.
[The Jargon File]
(1996-03-12)

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

heartbeat

n.
1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected.
2. A periodic synchronization signal used by software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic interrupt.
3. The `natural' oscillation frequency of a computer's clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's clock rate.
4. A signal emitted at regular intervals by software to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat. See also breath-of-life packet.

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