pulse



get (someone's) pulse racing

To excite, thrill, or exhilarate someone. You could feel it in the air that the singer's performance was getting everyone's pulse racing. Her quick, sultry glances from across the room got my pulse racing.
See also: get, pulse, race

get pulses racing

To be very thrilling, exhilarating, or exciting. You could feel it in the air that the singer's performance was getting pulses racing. She has an intense, smoldering stare that gets pulses positively racing.
See also: get, pulse, race

set (someone's) pulse racing

To excite, thrill, or exhilarate someone. You could feel it in the air that the singer's performance was setting everyone's pulse racing. Her quick, sultry glances from across the room set my pulse racing.
See also: pulse, race, set

set pulses racing

To be very thrilling, exhilarating, or exciting. You could feel it in the air that the singer's performance was setting pulses racing. She has an intense, smoldering stare that sets pulses positively racing.
See also: pulse, race, set

keep one's finger on the pulse of something

Fig. to monitor the current state of something frequently. I have to keep my finger on the pulse of the city if I want to be a good reporter. It is hard to keep your finger on the pulse of Washington, D.C., but a U.S. senator must do it.
See also: finger, keep, of, on, pulse

pulse through someone or something

to flow or surge through someone or something. A jolt of electricity pulsed through Sam, causing him to jerk his hand away from the wire. They repaired the power lines and electricity began to pulse through the wires again.
See also: pulse

take someone's pulse

to measure the frequency of the beats of a person's pulse. I can take my own pulse. The nurse took my pulse and said I was fine.
See also: pulse, take

take the pulse of something

Fig. to sample or survey something to learn about its progress or state. Two executives came in to take the pulse of the local business unit.
See also: of, pulse, take

your finger on the pulse (of something)

knowledge of what is happening now in a particular area They've got their finger on the pulse of popular culture in Latvia.
See also: finger, on, pulse

quicken the pulse

also quicken somebody's pulse
to cause excitement or interest There's nothing in this book to quicken the pulse.
See also: pulse, quicken

have your finger on the pulse

to be familiar with the most recent developments Whoever designed the new model obviously had their finger on the pulse - it's precisely the sort of computer everyone's been waiting for.
See also: finger, have, on, pulse

quicken your/the pulse

to make someone excited or interested There's nothing in this book to quicken the pulse.
See also: pulse, quicken

take the pulse of

Also, feel the pulse of. Try to determine the intentions or sentiments of a person or group, as in These exit polls allegedly take the pulse of the voters, but I don't believe they're very meaningful . [First half of 1600s] Also see feel out.
See also: of, pulse, take

take the pulse of

To judge the mood or views of (a political electorate, for example): The politician was able to take the pulse of the grass-roots voters.
See also: of, pulse, take

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Ram (2)-Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Nepali
InkaEENG-kah (Finnish), ING-kah (German)Frisian, Finnish, German
Rene['renei]
LuigiaLWEE-jahItalian
Hood[hud]
Laurynas-Lithuanian