pulse

PULS/pʌls/

20 meanings of pulse

1
nouncountable
The steady beat you can feel in your wrist or neck as your heart pushes blood around.
Like a small tap-tap you can feel under your skin each time your heart pushes.
The nurse felt his pulse before taking his temperature.
You can find your pulse by pressing two fingers to your wrist.
Similarheartbeat
Note
2
nouncountable
How fast or strong the heartbeat is, used as a sign of a person's health.
Like a gauge that shows how hard an engine is working.
The doctor said his pulse was strong and healthy.
A racing pulse can be a sign of fear or fever.
Similarheartbeat
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3
nounfigurativelycountable
The lively energy or busy feeling of a place or activity.
Like the heartbeat of a town, where all its energy comes together.
You can feel the pulse of the city at the night market.
The summer festival is the pulse of village life.
Similarheart, hub, center, core
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4
nounfigurativelycountable
A steady beat or throb, or a row of beats that keep repeating.
Like a drum that beats over and over at the same speed.
A dull pulse of pain ran through his sprained ankle.
The lighthouse sent out a slow pulse of light.
Similarthrob, beat, pulsation
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5
nouncountable
The steady beat of a piece of music or poem that you can tap along to.
Like the steady tick of a clock that the music follows.
Clap on the pulse while the song plays.
The drummer kept a steady pulse all the way through the song.
Similarbeat, rhythm
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6
verbliteraryfigurativelyintransitive
To beat or throb over and over, like a heart pumping blood.
Like a heart that squeezes and relaxes again and again.
The loud music made the whole room seem to pulse.
Veins pulsed in his neck as he lifted the weight.
Similarthrob, beat, vibrate, pulsate
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7
nouncountable
A short burst of energy such as light or radio waves.
Like a single quick flash from a camera.
The laser sent out a quick pulse of light.
Each pulse of the signal lasted only a fraction of a second.
Similarburst, signal
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8
nouncountable
A short, sudden rise in an electrical signal.
Like a quick tap on a switch that turns something on for a moment.
The sensor sends a pulse to the computer when the door opens.
Each pulse turns the motor a little further.
Similarimpulse, signal, spike
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9
noununcountable
Bean, pea, or lentil plants grown for their seeds, which people and animals eat as food.
Many farmers grow pulse to feed their animals.
Pulses like chickpeas grow well even in dry, poor soil.
Similarlegume
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10
noununcountable
The dried seeds of beans, peas, or lentils used as food.
Like dried beans you keep in the cupboard to cook later.
She soaked the pulse overnight before cooking it.
Dried pulse keeps for a long time in a jar.
Similarlegume
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11
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To be lively and full of energy and movement.
Like a heartbeat you can feel in a busy, lively place.
Big cities pulse with energy late into the night.
The whole market was pulsing with shouts and laughter.
Similarbuzz, throb, hum, bustle, teem
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12
verbfigurativelytransitive
To send something out in waves or bursts.
Like a heart pushing blood out in steady beats.
The big speakers pulse heavy bass through the whole club.
The lamp pulsed bright light across the dark room.
Similaremit, send, pump, beam
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13
nouncountablebefore a noun
A button that makes a food processor run in short bursts instead of running all the time.
Like tapping a light switch on and off quickly instead of leaving it on.
Use the pulse to chop the onions roughly.
She pressed the pulse a few times to mix the dough.
Similarburst
Note
14
verbtransitive
To run a food processor in short bursts on food to chop it without turning it to liquid.
Like quickly tapping a blender on and off so you crush food but don't make soup.
Pulse the garlic a few times until it is finely chopped.
She pulsed the tomatoes just enough to make a chunky sauce.
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15
nouncountable
A large amount of a drug or other substance given quickly over a short time.
Like pouring a whole cup of water in at once instead of a slow trickle.
The doctors gave the patient a pulse of medicine to fight the infection.
A quick pulse of the dye showed where the blood was flowing.
Similardose, burst
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16
verbtransitive
To send a changing electric current or signal into something.
Like pressing a doorbell on and off to send little bursts of power.
The technician pulsed the wire to test the alarm.
You can pulse the magnet to move the metal bits.
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17
verbtransitive
To control an electric current or wave so it comes out in short bursts.
Like flicking a flashlight on and off to send a signal in flashes.
Engineers pulse the current so it leaves in short bursts.
The circuit pulsed the signal to save power.
18
nouncountable
A planned moment when several buses or trains meet at one stop so riders can easily change between them.
Like friends all arriving at a meeting point at the same time so no one waits.
The new pulse lets riders switch from the bus to the train in minutes.
Our town added a pulse so people can catch the next bus right away.
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19
verbtransitive
To give a cell culture or other thing a quick, large dose of a substance over a short time.
Like giving a plant a big splash of water once, then none for a while.
Researchers pulse the cells with a special dye to track them.
She pulsed the culture with the drug for ten minutes.
Similardose
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20
nouncountable
A stable, single wave-like form that holds its shape on its own in some physical systems.
Like a smoke ring that keeps its shape as it floats across a room.
In the model, a stable pulse stayed in one place long after the disturbance faded.
Researchers watched a single pulse keep its shape as it crossed the medium.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–5, 7–8, 13, 15, 18, 20

It comes from Latin pulsus, meaning the beat of the arteries or heart, from a word meaning to drive or strike. It reached English through French.

Meanings 6, 11–12, 14, 16–17, 19

This verb comes from Latin pulsāre, meaning to push, beat, or strike. It is related to the word push.

Meanings 9–10

This word for seeds of bean-like plants comes from Latin puls, meaning porridge, possibly through French. The Latin word probably came from Ancient Greek póltos, meaning porridge made from flour.