at heart

A a

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [at hahrt]
- /æt hɑrt/
- /ət hɑːt/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [at hahrt]
- /æt hɑrt/

Definitions of at heart words

phrase at heart If you say that someone is a particular kind of person at heart, you mean that that is what they are really like, even though they may seem very different. 3
phrase at heart If you say that someone has your interests or your welfare at heart, you mean that they are concerned about you and that is why they are doing something. 3
noun at heart in reality or fundamentally 3
noun at heart in one's innermost or hidden nature; secretly or fundamentally 3
noun at heart Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body. 1
noun at heart Zoology. the homologous structure in other vertebrates, consisting of four chambers in mammals and birds and three chambers in reptiles and amphibians. the analogous contractile structure in invertebrate animals, as the tubular heart of the spider and earthworm. 1

See all 52 definitions of at heart

Information block about the term

Origin of at heart

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English herte, Old English heorte; cognate with Dutch hart, German Herz, Old Norse hjarta, Gothic hairtō; akin to Latin cor (see cordial, courage), Greek kardía (see cardio-); def 19, from the use of the stylized heart symbol to represent love

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for At heart

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of At heart

at heart popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

at heart usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for at heart

adv at heart

basically — You use basically for emphasis when you are stating an opinion, or when you are making an important statement about something.
fundamentally — serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying: fundamental principles; the fundamental structure.
inside — on the inner side or part of; within: inside the circle; inside the envelope.
at bottom — You use at bottom to emphasize that you are stating what you think is the real nature of something or the real truth about a situation.
deep down — If you know something deep down or deep down inside, you know that it is true, but you are not always conscious of it or willing to admit it to yourself.

All 7 Synonyms of at heart