heartbeat

IPA: hˈɑrtbit

One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it.
The rhythm at which a heart pulsates, a cardiac indicator.
A driving impulse or vital force; the vital center of something.
A very short space of time; an instant.
(computing) A periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize other parts of a system.

Examples of "heartbeat" in Sentences

"The drum is what we call the heartbeat of our people," he said.
I'd get it in heartbeat if I could get it in .257 Roberts or 7x57.
Once a heartbeat is established on sonogram, that rate drops to 5% or less.
During thawing, the heartbeat is also the first physiological activity that is restored.
The heart must be “defibrillated” quickly, because a person's chance of surviving drops by 7 to 10 percent for each minute a normal heartbeat is not restored.
Guterl said the walk-a-thon inspired the school and the community to work together to teach students about the importance of the library, which he called the heartbeat of a community.
With the nine-year-old Doha round of trade talks on the back burner, "the only [global] trade negotiation with a heartbeat is the GPA," says Simon Evenett, a trade economist at the University of Saint Gallen in Switzerland.