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
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
The title track, Bloom, which concludes the album is another straight-up ballad, which could even pass for an early Lennon-McCartney heartstring puller.
—Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Astrologer Valerie Mesa shares your love horoscope for the month of January
Comments
The first month of 2025 is in full swing, and your January love horoscope is swirling with dreamy transits that could tug on your heartstrings.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025
The raw excitement pouring out of Davis-Woodhall after her win and her instant desire to share it with her partner tugged at a whole lotta heartstrings.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 30 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 5 Feb. 2025.
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heartstring
noun
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