[hahrt-beet] Pronunciation Key | a pulsation of the heart, including one complete systole and diastole. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| heart·beat
(härt'bēt') Pronunciation Key
n.
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| 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" |
heartbeat heart·beat (härt'bēt')
n.
A single complete pulsation of the heart.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
heartbeat
1.
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)
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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