heartstring
noun
Did you know?
Heartstring Has a Medical History
Before a love song could tug at your heartstrings, the job was more likely to be accomplished by a surgeon: the word heartstring used to refer to a nerve believed to sustain the heart. You might recognize the word's second syllable in hamstring, which refers to both a group of tendons at the back of the knee and to any of three muscles at the backs of the upper legs. It's also apparent in a rare dialect term for the Achilles tendon: heel string. And in light of these terms, it's not surprising to know that string itself was at one time used independently to refer to bodily cords like tendons and ligaments.
Examples of heartstring in a Sentence
Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
This week, a slate of great new collaborations — Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre team up for their first LP in decades, Julien Baker enlist Torres for a twangy cut that pulls at the heartstrings, and GloRilla calls Kehlani up for the perfect mix of holiday cheer and wintertime fun.
—Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2024
But no one expects the regional development argument to tug at Trump’s heartstrings.
—Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 7 Dec. 2024
Across its eight tracks, Knox bares all about the intimate lifecycle of her own seven-year relationship through spellbinding vocals that tug at the heartstrings and polished, R&B-leaning production.
—Heran Mamo, Billboard, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heartstring 
Dictionary Entries Near heartstring
Cite this Entry
“Heartstring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartstring. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
heartstring
noun
Share