Main entry: heartbeat
Definition: an animating or vital unifying force
Usage: New York is the commercial heartbeat of America
Main entry: beat, pulsation, pulse, heartbeat
Definition: the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
Usage: he could feel the beat of her heart
Main entry: New York minute, split second, blink of an eye, wink, heartbeat, instant, trice, twinkling, flash, jiffy
Definition: a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
Usage: if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash