pulse
/pʌls/noun, verb
pulse is spelled P-U-L-S-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pulse means “A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pulse is pulses.
How many letters and syllables are in pulse?
| Letters | 5: P-U-L-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pulse?
Pulse appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pulse?
- UK /pʌls/
- US /pʌls/
- US [pəls]
Pulse has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pulse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pulse?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pulse from its last stressed vowel (/ʌls/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pulse
- pulses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pulsing participle, present
- pulsed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pulse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them; the qualitative nature of this beat.
Her pulse was thready and weak.
- 2
The rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health.
Her pulse was 110 at 8 a.m.
- 3
A beat or throb; also, a repeated sequence of such beats or throbs.
- 4
The focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; also, the feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place; the heartbeat.
You can really feel the pulse of the city in this district.
- 5
An (increased) amount of a substance (such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.
- 6
A setting on a food processor which causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously, in order to break up ingredients without liquidizing them; also, a use of this setting.
- 7
The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse; also, a repeated sequence of such beats.
- 8
A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves, etc.
- 9
Annual leguminous plants (such as beans, lentils, and peas) yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; (countable) such a plant; a legume.
- 10
Edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants, especially in a mature, dry condition; (countable) a specific kind of such a grain or seed.
verb
- 1
To emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves.
- 2
To give to (something, especially a cell culture) an (increased) amount of a substance, such as a drug or an isotopic label, over a short time.
- 3
To operate a food processor on (some ingredient) in short bursts, to break it up without liquidizing it.
- 4
To apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to (something).
- 5
To manipulate (an electric current, electromagnetic wave, etc.) so that it is emitted in pulses.
- 6
To expand and contract repeatedly, like an artery when blood is flowing though it, or the heart; to beat, to throb, to vibrate, to pulsate.
Hot blood pulsed through my veins as I grew angrier.
- 7
Of an activity, place, or thing: to bustle with energy and liveliness; to pulsate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate pulse?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of pulse: TPR.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pulse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pouls , légumineuse |
| German | Puls , Hülsenfrucht |
| Portuguese | pulso , pulsar |
| Spanish | pulso , legumbre, leguminosa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.